Archaeorthoptera, Bethoux & Nel, 2002

Archaeorthoptera indet.

Fig. 4 View Fig .

Material.—MNHN.F.A.95113, a well preserved costo-apical part of a wing, from coal slag heap N°5bis, “Faisceau de Modeste”, “Veine Maroc ” ( Corsin 1932), Bruay-la-Bussière, Pas-de-Calais, France; Vicoigne Series, lower Langsettian (= lower Westphalian A, Bashkirian), Lower Pennsylvanian, Carboniferous.

Description.—Fragment 12.2 mm long, 3.4 mm wide; wing apex rounded; ScP straight, rather short, ending in C well basad wing apex, 10.3 mm apart, at least three simple veinlets between C and ScP; RA and RP separating 12.2 mm from wing apex; RA weakly curved, ending into C 5.2 mm from wing apex; a series of 11 simple, oblique and short veinlets in area between C and RA; area between RA and RP rather broad, 0.8 mm wide, with 10 long and simple veinlets in-between; RP posteriorly pectinate, with four main branches, anterior-most one being anteriorly pectinate, other branches forked one or two times; RP covering all apical part of wing; a fragment of median vein preserved; CuA and CuP missing.

Remarks.—Although incomplete, this wing fits well into the Archaeorthoptera in the presence of a posteriorly pectinate RP, presence of numerous veinlets between C and RA and between C and ScP, numerous straight crossveins between branches of main veins and a rather pronounced corrugation of the main veins. This fossil is remarkable for the rather short RA ending into C well basad wing apex, branches of RP covering all apical part of wing, and short ScP. Unfortunately it is too incomplete to determine its exact affinities in the Archaeorthoptera as the veins CuA and CuP are missing. Nevertheless it corresponds to a taxon different from all the Archaeorthoptera already described from Bruay-la-Bussière and Avion.