1854,] WESTWOOD — FOSSIL INSECTS. 385 



fine, longitudinal, plain striae ; and that the 

 strise of the large central elytron are punc- 

 tured. 



Several of the other slabs also contain a great number of small 

 elytra, of diflFerent sizes, and sculptured variously ; but few of these 

 are well defined. One, however, of larger size than the rest, is of a 

 broad semi-oval form, 3| lines long, with a narrow, plain, lateral, di- 

 lated margin, and with nine longitudinal strise, and one short, sub- 

 scutellar, punctured stria. 



In a few of the specimens of elytra, it is also to be observed that a 

 portion of the original tegument of the elytra still exists, black and 

 shining in appearance, and extremely brittle and friable in texture. 



The only fragment of a wing amongst these Dorchester fossils is 

 one, I inch long, which is a part of a rather narrow delicate Neuro- 

 pterous wing ; the narrow costal portion of which has short oblique 

 veinlets ; and the disc has a submarginal straight vein, emitting 

 straight, oblique, longitudinal veins, similar to the extremity of fig. 33 

 in Plate XVIII. 



VIII. Fossil Elytron from Durdlestone Bay. 

 PI. XIV. fig. 11. 



Plate XIV. fig. 1 1 represents, of the natural size, a very fine ely- 

 tron found in the Lower Purbecks, Durdlestone Bay, Dorset, 

 and kindly sent to me by Captain Woodley for examination. It is 

 broad and flat, very finely punctured, of a brown colour, with part 

 of the sutural edge finely reticulated with black, each reticulation 

 being punctured ; and it has three, smooth, plain, narrow, longitu- 

 dinal costse on the disc. 



This specimen appears to be very nearly related to the fossil elytra 

 from the Middle Purbecks represented in PI. XV. fig. 7, above- 

 described. 



IX. Fossil Insects and Isopods from the Lower Purbecks*. 

 PI. XIV. figs. 9, 10, 12, 14-2] . PI. XV. figs, 1, 2, 4, 5. PI. XVII. 

 figs. 1-19, 21. 



An extensive suite of fossil insects, amongst which are some of the 

 finest I have hitherto examined, has been forwarded to me, through 

 the Rev. Mr. Brodie, by Mr. Willcox, by whom they were collected 

 from the Purbeck insect-beds near Swanage. They consist of sixty 

 small slabs of various sizes, some containing a considerable number 

 of insect remains. The most remarkable specimens are represented in 

 the lower part of Plate XIV. by figs. 9, 10, 12, 14-21, and in Plate XV. 

 by figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and by the whole of Plate XVII., excepting fig. 20. 



Isopods. — PI. XIV. fig. 12. This is the most interesting of the 

 whole of the series of fossils from the Lower Purbecks, not only on 

 account of its being so far perfect as to show the general form of the 



* Collected Ijy C. Willcox, Esq. 



