PSYCHE. 



REHABILITATION OF PODISMA LATREILLE. 



BY SAMUEL H. SCUDDER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



The Oithopteian genus Podisma was 

 proposed in a Gallic form (Podisme) 

 by Latreille in 1S35 (F^im. nat., 415) 

 for short-vving-ed Acridians with a 

 prosternal spine, without specification of 

 species. Its next use was by the same 

 author in 1829 (Cuvier, Regne an., v, 

 1S8) in its proper Latin form, and 

 the European species now known as 

 Pczotettix pcdcstris and Platyphyma 

 giortiae referred to it. The same two 

 species and these only are again referred 

 to Podisma by Serville in 1831 (Rev. 

 m(}th. Orth., 9S-99) and to the same 

 as a subgenus of Acridium by the same 

 writer in 1839 (Hist. nat. Orth., 679- 

 681). Burmeister, however, in 1S40 

 (Germ., Zeitschr. ent., ii, 51) refers 

 these same species and these only to a 

 new genus Pezotetti.x to which he gives 

 as a synonym "Podisma Latr. ex parte." 

 In Burmeister's view (cf. Handb. ent., 

 ii. 650; 183S) the other poition of 

 Latreille's genus included such species 

 s.^ Stenobothrus parallelus, and Chry- 

 socliraon dispor, where "Podisma 

 Latr ex parte" is given as the equiva- 

 lent of some unnamed divisions. But 

 these species are excluded by Latreille's 

 definition, and in his writings he has 

 never mentioned any other species as 

 appertaining to the genus than the two 

 first mentioned above. 



The only other authors who had at 

 this time employed the term were 

 Brulle (Exp. Moree") in 1S32 who (as 

 qLioted by Fischer) referred to it only 

 species of Stethophynia and Stenobo- 

 thrus ; He\er (Germ., Faun. Ins., fasc. 

 17) who in 1S35 ( .') employed it for 

 CJirxsocliraon dispar ; Stephens who 

 in 1S35 (Iliustr., Mand., vi, 29) had 

 referred pedestris only to it ; and Costa 

 wlio in 1S36 (Faun. Reg. Nap., 43-48) 

 had referred to it four supposed new 

 species, appulum, campanum. cula- 

 brum and communis, the first two of 

 which are now regarded as synonyms 

 of Acridium aegyptiiim L., the ihirtl 

 as probably a Pamphagus and the last 

 as giornae. In view of the limitation 

 of tlTe genus by Serville (if Latreille 

 ever intended its greater extension) 

 this action of Brull6 and Costa has no 

 force, and hence, if the name Pezotettix 

 can be retained at all, it must be by 

 regarding one of the two original 

 species as the type of Pezotetti.x, the 

 otlier of Podisma. 



So far as I can discover, the first 

 author to refer the two species to dis- 

 tinct genera was Fieber who in June 

 1853 (Lotos, iii, I 19) referred giornae 

 to ills new genus Pelecychis, and 

 pedestris to Podisma. Also in 1835, 

 but later, his introduction being dated 



