338 Br. H. Woodicard — Neuropterous Wing from Australia. 



the preceding pair, terminate in the posterior border. Between these 

 and the anal angle of the wing about five others pass from the post-costal 

 nervure to the posterior border of the wing. The greater part of the 

 wing between the nervures is composed of delicate hexagonal meshes, 

 but near the triangle and between the main (sector) nervures the 

 intermediate cellules form elongated meshes (discoidal areoloe or 

 " cellules pastrigonales," — Hagen). 



The very imperfect state of our specimen precludes our correlating 

 it, with confidence, to any living genus ; but sufficient is preserved to 

 demonstrate that it is the posterior wing of a JSTeuropterous insect of 

 the sub-order Oclonata, Fabr., and perhaps referable to the sub-family 

 Gomi^liince^^ one genus of which, Austrogomfhus, de Selys, having five 

 species, is characteristic of Australia and Tasmania. 



Whilst engaged in making comparisons of this Australian fossil, I 

 passed in review various specimens in our collection, both recent and 

 fossil, when amongst the latter I had the good fortune to light upon 

 one species represented by several specimens from the Purbeck Fresh- 

 water Limestone of Durdlestone Bay, near Swanage, Dorset. One of 

 these wings is figured by Prof. J. 0. Westwood (see Quart. Journ. 

 Geol. Soc, 1854, vol. x. pp. 378-396, plates xiv.-xviii.), who writes 

 as follows [op. cit. p. 387) : — 



"Of naked- winged insects, there is a considerable collection of in- 

 teresting fragments, amongst which those belonging to the LihelluUdce 

 are pre-eminent, as usual, for their size. 



"Plate XV. fig. 4 represents a portion (near the extremity) of one 

 of the wings of a Lilellula of very large size. 



"Fig. 5 is one of the wings of a Dragon-fly, with very small 

 meshes, and with the characteristic triangle occupying a higher 

 position than in the typical Lihellulce." 



The specimens above referred to were obtained by C. "VVillcox, Esq., 

 and the Kev. P. B. Brodie, M.A., F.G.S., from the Lower Purbecks, 

 Durdlestone Bay, Dorset. 



After a careful examination of the specimens referred to above, 

 and of others from the same locality and horizon, I have no hesitation 

 in affirming that the two wings (the one from the Purbeck beds of 

 Dorset, and the other from the Cretaceous of North Queensland) are 

 so nearly identical in every detail, that, if not specifically the same, 

 they quite certainly belong to the same genus. 



The interest in this correlation is greatly increased when we recall 

 the fact that it was from this same freshwater limestone of Durdle- 

 stone Bay, Dorset, that Professor Owen described" no fewer than 

 eleven genera and twenty-five species of small Marsupial Mammals 

 of polyprotodont and diprotodont types, the former resembling the 

 PeramelidcB, Basyuridcs, and Bidelphidce, being either of carnivorous 

 or insectivorous habits ; the latter resembling the Phascolomijda}, 

 Macropodidce, and PhalangistidcB, being almost purely vegetable 

 feeders. This striking assemblage of Tipper Jurassic Mammalia and 



1 See Monographie des Gomphines, par Edm. de Selys Longchamps et H. A. 

 Hagen, Paris, 1857, Svo. 



2 See Pal. Soc. Mon. 1871, "Monograph of Fossil Mammalia of the Mesozoic 

 Formation.' ' 



