FOSSIL INSECTS FROM NEW MEXICO 1 
By F. M. Carpenter 
Biological Laboratories, Harvard University 
Several years ago Dr. Charles B. Read, of the U. S. Geological 
Survey, kindly sent me a fossil insect which he had collected in 
the Sandia Formation (Pennsylvanian age) in New Mexico. Al- 
though recognizing the specimen as a member of the extinct order 
Palaeodictyoptera, I deferred publication on it with the hope that 
additional insects might subsequently be found in the same deposit. 
So far none has been, but about a year ago Dr. Sergius Mamay, 
also of the U. S. Geological Survey, sent me five insects which he 
had found at an exposure of the Madera Formation in New Mexico. 
Since these are also of Pennsylvanian age, I decided to publish this 
account of both the Sandia and the Madera specimens. As on many 
previous occasions, I am deeply indebted to Dr. Read and to Dr. 
Mamay for the opportunity of studying these fossils. 
The Sandia Formation is considered to be of Lower Pennsyl- 
vanian age, probably equivalent to the Pottsville (see Keroher, 1966; 
Bates and others, 1947; Read and Wood, 1947). So far as I am 
aware the specimen collected by Dr. Read is the only insect which 
has been found in the Sandia Formation. This fossil, however, is of 
unusual interest, since it belongs to the palaeodictyopterous family 
Eugereonidae, which is otherwise known only from the Upper 
Carboniferous of France and Portugal, and the Permian of Germany. 
The Madera Formation is also referable to the Upper Pennsyl- 
vanian period but is somewhat younger than the Sandia and may 
possibly belong to the uppermost Pennsylvanian (Mamay, personal 
communication; Read and others, 1944; Bates and others, 1947; 
Read and Wood, 1947). The collection made by Dr. Mamay from 
an exposure of this formation is of exceptional interest. All insects 
are very well preserved and four of the five specimens have body 
structures present. This is an unusual occurrence and it takes on 
even greater significance in view of the systematic positions of the 
fossils concerned. One of the species seems to be a member of the 
palaeodictyopterous family Lycocercidae, which has previously been 
found only in the Upper 'Carboniferous of France and Germany; 
another is a member of the extinct order Caloneurodea, which has 
This research has been supported in part by NSF Grant no. GB 27333 
(F. M. Carpenter, Harvard University, Principal Investigator). 
4OO 
