A MEGASECOPTERON FROM UPPER CARBONIFEROUS 
STRATA IN SPAIN 1 
By F. M. Carpenter 
Harvard University 
In 1962 Professor F. Stockmans, of the Institut Royal des Sciences 
Naturelles de Belgique, kindly sent me for study two insects from 
Upper Carboniferous deposits in Northern Spain. One of these (no. 
94.837), from the Mine de Poleiro, is part of a cockroach tegmen, 
which cannot be placed with certainty even to family level. The 
other specimen (no. 97.587), from shales near the village of Mag- 
dalena, is a nearly complete, well-preserved wing of a megasecopterous 
insect. Since it shows interesting venational features and since there 
seems little chance of obtaining additional insects from this deposit in 
the near future, I have considered it advisable to publish a formal 
description of the fossil at this time. I am indebted to Dr. Stockmans 
not only for his courtesy in loaning me these specimens but for pro- 
viding me with information about the geology and stratigraphy of the 
formation concerned. 
Family Anchineuridae, new family 
Differing from all other known families of Megasecoptera by having 
the cross veins numerous, irregular, and equally distributed over the 
wing area. The subcosta runs very close to the costal margin, termi- 
nating in the distal area of the wing; the costal margin is somewhat 
thickened and in the distal quarter of the wing, before the apex, the 
thickened area becomes much broader; the radius is parallel with the 
subcosta and close to it but not so near as Sc is to the costal margin. 
The radial sector has numerous branches, MA is free from Rs, and 
CuA is free from MP. The costal margin of the wing bears numerous, 
conspicuous, stout setae, especially prominent in the thickened region 
of the costa; the rest of the wing margin from the apical region along 
the posterior margin to the wing base bears a series of fine setae ; 
some of the longitudinal as well as cross veins, especially the branches 
of Rs and associated cross veins, bear well-defined but short setae. 
The closest relatives of this family seem to be the Aspidothoracidae, 
in which, however, the cross veins, although nearly equally distributed 
over the wing surface, are much fewer in number and are regular in 
formation. In the Anchineuridae the cross veins are irregularly 
’This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. 
NSF G 14099. Manuscript received by the editor December 15, 1962. 
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