90 S. II. Scudder — Carboniferous Insects of France. 



Art. YIII. — The Carboniferous Insects of Commentry, 

 France; by Samuel H. Scudder. 



Although only a very few fossils have yet been fully de- 

 scribed or figured from Commentry it has been known for 

 some years that it is the richest locality for paleozoic insects 

 yet discovered. Commentry lies in central France, in the 

 Department of Allier and the horizon is Upper Carboniferous. 

 Mining is there carried on in the open air and this offers the 

 best possible opportunity for recognizing and preserving the 

 fossils. 



Besides some brief notices of the richness of the insect 

 fauna at Commentry and the description of some highly re- 

 markable forms, M. Charles Brongniart of the Paris Museum, 

 to whose hands all the material has been entrusted, published 

 a few years ago a summary notice of the entire collection, 

 which, without entering into details, indicated at once the 

 astonishing variety and abundance of forms at this locality. 



Within the last two or three days I have had the opportun- 

 ity through the kindness of M. Brongniart of seeing not only 

 a considerable part of this collection but also the illustrations 

 prepared by M. Brongniart himself from the choicest speci- 

 mens ; illustrations made with a care and exactitude which 

 leave nothing to be desired, and which are now nearly com- 

 pleted after a labor of ten years, so that we may hope soon to 

 be favored with his final work. Leaving the cockroaches out 

 of account, to which M. Brongniart will give his attention 

 later, the number of these illustrations, their variety, the 

 extraordinary character of the insects themselves and their 

 rare perfection, leave not the least room for doubt that when 

 his work appears, our knowledge of paleozoic insects will have 

 been increased three- or fourfold at a single stroke and an 

 entirely new point of departure for the future opened. No 

 former contribution in this field can in any way compare with 

 it, nor even all former contributions taken together. Besides 

 it will offer such a striking series of strange forms as cannot 

 fail to awaken the attention of the least incurious. One may 

 not enter into details, but mention may simply be made of one 

 species, regarded by M. Brongniart as one of the forerunners 

 of the dragon flies, in which the wings have an expanse of con- 

 siderably more than two feet (or about 70 centimeters) and of 

 which several specimens are preserved. It is a veritable giant 

 among insects. 



Paris, Dec. 2, 1893. 



