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FROM THE BRITISH COAL MEASURES. 



55 



of the anal veins. I have no hesitation, therefore, in assigning 

 the species to the genus Spilaptera, and would add the specific 

 name of sutcliffei, in memory of the late W. H. Sutcliffe, who 

 helped so materially to work out the fauna of Sparth Bottoms. 



This genus contains three known species. Prom Sp>. packardi 

 Brongniart the specimen now described is easily distinguished by 

 the sub-costa being parallel to the costal margin ; by the equal 

 separation of the sub-costa, radius, and median in the basal third 

 of the wing ; and by the division of the median into two branches 

 quite close to the base. Sp. libelluloides Brongniart is only 

 known from the distal half of a wing, in which the cubitus is a 

 smaller vein dividing in a feeble fork some distance out from the 

 base ; whereas in Sp. sutcliffei the cubitus is much stronger, and 

 divides into two, or possibly three, main branches close to its point 

 of origin. Sp. venusta Brongniart is a species established upon 

 little more than the distal half of a left wing. The sub-costa 

 is a much shorter vein than in Sp. sutcliffei, and the radial sector 

 comes off from the radius nearer the middle of the wing. In 

 Sp. sutcliffei the outward branch of the median forks almost in 

 line with the point of origin of the radius — a feature not seen in 

 Sp. venusta. 



Diagnosis of species: — Sub-costa subparallel to costal margin ; 

 median vein dividing near the base into two branches, of which the 

 outer forks just beyond the point of origin of the radial sector. 

 Cubitus a large and much-divided vein. Anal veins few in 

 number. 



Type-specimen in the Manchester Museum, Reg. No. L. 8197. 

 Locality. — Sparth Bottoms, Rochdale. 

 Horizon. — Middle Coal Measures. 



Htpermegethes northumbrije, geh. emend, et sp. nov. (PI. IV, 

 figs. 2 & 3.) 



This specimen consists of a portion of the basal half of a left 

 wing, contained in two fragments of an ironstone nodule, of which 

 one bears the impression and the other the wing-fragment. The 

 two do not wholly coincide, and consequently the outline drawing 

 of the wing-fragment is built up from the two halves of the nodule. 

 The inner margin, anal area, and base of the wing have been 

 lost, so that a little less than two -thirds of the outer portion of 

 the basal half of the wing is present. The wing was of great 

 length, the portion remaining being 63 mm. long, with a depth of 

 31 mm. at its widest part. The whole wing would have a length 

 of about 126 mm., or 5 inches, and the insect a span of wing of 

 close upon 11 inches. The wing shows the basal portions of the 

 costa, sub-costa, radius and radial sector, median and cubitus ; 

 possibly there is a ti'ace of a portion of an anal vein. 



[My views upon the structure and relationship of this wing have 

 undergone a change since reading the paper before the Society 

 on March 8th. At that time all my efforts to determine the 

 character of the intercalary venation had ended in failure, while 



