1965] 
Carpenter — Carboniferous Insects 
185 
Handlirsch placed the family Hapalopteridae in a separate order, 
Hapalopteroidea, although only one species, H. gracilis , was known 
at the time. His decision to establish this “provisional” order was 
undoubtedly the result of his misinterpretation of the venation of the 
unique specimen on which gracilis was based. In 1922 he placed 
another family, Emphylopteridae Handlirsch, in the order; this group 
was based on another monospecific genus, Emphyloptera. Pruvost, 
from the Upper Carboniferous of Europe. The assignment of this 
genus to the Hapalopteridae obviously resulted once again from Hand- 
lirsch’s misinterpretation of the venation of the type of Hapaloptera. 
Quite clearly, Emphyloptera shows no affinities with Hapaloptera , 
as now understood, and it is here assigned to family Incertae Sedis, 
order Protorthoptera, until the fossil on which it is based can be 
studied further. The genus Ampeliptera Pruvost (1927) from the 
Upper Carboniferous of Holland was placed in the Hapalopteroidea 
by Pruvost but removed to another extinct order, Protocicadida, by 
Haupt in 1941. The fossil on which Ampeliptera was based was 
studied by Kukalova (1958), who found that it was an unquestion- 
able protorthopteron of the family Paoliidae. 
As to the genus Hapaloptera itself, there is nothing known about 
it which eliminates it from the Protorthoptera. In fact, as noted 
above, it is very close to the Cacurgidae. Bolton (i934) described 
two species in the genus Hapaloptera from the Upper Carboniferous 
of South Wales. Neither of these fossils, however, has affinities with 
Hapaloptera , as can readily be seen from an examination of his 
figures; both of the species are known only from fragments of wings 
which, far from belonging to the same genus, represent at least 
separate families and may represent even separate orders. The order 
Hapalopteroidea is accordingly now placed in synonomy with the 
order Protorthoptera. 
Family Protoperlidae Brongniart 
Brongniart, 1893, Recherches l’histoire insectes fossiles: 407 [ nom . correct. 
Lameere, 1917, p. 197 (pro Protoperlida Brongniart, 1892)] 
— Palaeocixiidae Handlirsch, 1919, Denkschr. Acad. Wiss. Wein, 92: 29 
— Fayoliellidae Handlirsch, 1919, ibid: 48 
— Hadentomidae Handlirsch, 1906, Die fossilen Insekten: 303 (Order 
Hadentomoidea) 
Fore wing: costal area with numerous, simple veinlets; Sc extend- 
ing well beyond mid-wing ; R 1 unbranched ; Rs arising at least 
slightly before mid-wing, unbranched; M forked; MP usually weaker 
than MA ; CuA extensively branched ; CuP straight or nearly so, un- 
branched ; cross veins well developed ; no reticulation but rarely two 
