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IV. Studies of the Blattidae. By R. Shelford, M.A., 

 F.L.S. 



[Read February 3rd, 1909.] 



Plates VII— IX. 



X. A REVISION OF THE OlD-WoRLD BlATTINAE BELONG- 

 ING TO THE POLYZOSTERIA GROUP, 



A STUDY of the collection of Blattidae recently made in 

 West Australia by Drs. Michaelsen and Hartmeyer soon 

 convinced me that a thorough revision of the Australian 

 Blattinae was an urgent necessity. Tepper has described 

 numbers of species in the Transactions of the Royal 

 Society of South Australia, but the identification of his 

 species has always been attended with considerable diffi- 

 culty since this worker's views on classification are rather 

 peculiar and his descriptions are not supplemented with 

 figures. Kirby, in his Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera 

 vol. i, has made a laudable endeavour to reduce the 

 Tepperian species and genera into something like order, 

 but as he had neither time nor opportunity to consult any 

 types but those of Walker, he has not succeeded in de- 

 creasing the confusion. Guessing at the generic identity of 

 species involves all sorts of risks, and consequently Mr. 

 Kirby's emendation of Tepper's genera has resulted in several 

 serious errors. To take one example: — he sinks Temmlytra, 

 Tepp., as a synonym of Zonioploca, Stal, though the two 

 genera are totally distinct, and includes in the revised 

 genus species belonging to no less than five genera. The 

 straightening-out of the terrible tangle into which this 

 group of cockroaches had been twisted has been attended 

 with very great difficulty, for I have been unable to 

 borrow types from the South Australian Museum and 

 Mr. Tepper has not responded to appeals for the compari- 

 son with his types of specimens sent to him from the 

 Hope collection. Fortunately Professor Baldwin Spencer 

 and Mr. W. W. Froggatt most kindly came to the rescue ; 

 the former has sent me all the Tepperian types in the 

 Melbourne Museum, and the latter has presented or lent 

 to the Hope Museum specimens determined by Mr. 

 Tepper himself. With these valuable aids, for which I 

 cannot be too grateful, I have been able to determine 

 TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1909. — PART II. (MAY) 



