76 
Psyche 
[June 
The largest extinct order of Carboniferous and Per- 
mian times was the so-called Protorthoptera. This in- 
cluded a bewildering variety of insects, suggestive of 
most of the orders to which we apply the term Orthop- 
teroidea. Some show definite traces of characteristics 
found in the cockroaches, others recall the mantodean and 
even the saltatorial Orthoptera ; but so far no satisfactory 
division of the Protorthoptera has been proposed. All of 
them were neopterous, i.e., folded their wings over the 
abdomen at rest. The more primitive types, however, 
possessed pronotal lobes, like those of the Palaeodicty- 
Figure 3. Probnis speciosa Sellards (Order Protorthoptera), from the 
Lower Permian of Kansas. Original restoration, based upon specimens in 
the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 
optera. Their wings were unequal, the hind pair having 
an expanded and plicate anal area. In certain Permian 
species, and perhaps also some Carboniferous ones, the 
fore wings were tegminous and distinctly punctate. A 
prominent ovipositor and cerci were present in most spe- 
cies. Apart from the wings, the prothorax showed the 
greatest amount of diversity. In many Carboniferous 
species, the prothorax was long and even armed with 
large spinous projections, whereas in others this segment 
was small and inconspicuous. The legs also showed much 
diversity. The fore legs of some were clearly raptorial, 
