804 



ARTHROPODA 



PHYLUM VII 



species are known. Parotermes Scudder (Fig. 1551) ; Eutermes Heer ; and Hodotermes 

 Hagen occur in the Miocene lake beds of Florissant, Colorado. 



Order 14. 



CORRODBNTIA Burmeister ^ (Copeognatha Enderlein). 

 (Book Lice). 



Minute terrestrial Inseds with specialised orthopteroid mouth parts, filiform or hair- 



like antennae, and two pairs of wiequal memhranous wings which are capaUe of heing 



folded bachvard, loüh reduced cross-veins. Hind wings smaller, 



\ / without folded anal lohe; neuration highly specialised. Legs 



homonomous, with two- or three-jointed tarsi. Prothorax small ; 



cerci reduced, ovipositor not prominent. 



A number of species belonging in part to extinct and in 

 part to still living genera is known from Baltic amber (Lower 

 Oligocene of East Prussia), and from Sicilian amber of Upper 

 Miocene age. A very remarkable form with hard, cbitinous 

 wings, and interesting from a phylogenetic standpoint, is 

 Sphaeropsocus Hagen (Fig. 1552), preserved in Baltic amber. 



The fifteenth order Mallophaga Nitsche, including parasitic 

 Bird Lice or Biting Lice, witli reduced mouth parts, and the 

 sixteenth order Siphunculata Meinert ( = Änoplura Enderlein), which is allied to the 

 Mallophaga but has suctorial mouth parts, comprise modern ectoparasitical Insects, 

 and are not known to be represented in the fossil state. 



Fio. 1552. 



Spkaeropsocxis kuenovii 

 Hagen. ' Oligocene amber ; 

 East Prussia. i^/^ (after 

 Hagen). 



Order 17. COLEOPTERA Linnaeus. (Beetles). 



Terrestrial or aquatic Insects with orthopteroid hiting mouth parts and generally 

 multiarticulate antennae. Four wings are present ; the upper pair shell-lihe in con- 

 sistency, and forming cases (elytra) which meet 

 together along the median dorsal line, so as to 

 sheathe completely the delicate memhranous hind 

 pair. Legs generally homonomous or the third 

 pair modified for swimming or leaping. Ahdo- 

 men sessile, without cerci or prominent ovipositor '; 

 the number of visible Segments more or less re- 

 duced. 



Over 350 species of rather primitive Cole- 

 optera have been found in Mesozoic strata, the 

 largest number being from the Upper Jura. 

 The majority of these cannot be positively 

 assigned to Recent families, although it is 

 certain that many of these were represented as 

 early as the Mesozoic. On the other hand, Fio. 1553. 



most of the Tertiary Coleoptera belong to exist- ^'«wedo«, homi Handl. Lithographie Stone 



ing families, and comprise nearly 2300 species. ^^^^'' '^'"''•'^ ' ^^^'^^^^-^ % (after Handiirsch.) 

 This, however, is a small number in comparison to something like 200,000 described 

 species of Recent beetles. 



The principal families which are represented in the fossil state are the Carabidae, 

 to which belongs the cursorial beetle Tauredon Handl. (Fig. 1553); Elateridae ; 

 Buprestidae; Dytiscidae, ete. The Strepsiptera of Kirby may be considered as a 

 1 £nderlein, G., Die fossilen Copeoguatheu und ihre Phylogenie. Palaeontogr., 1911. vol. Iviii. 



