Lign. 181. Fossil Wings of Insects.
(Drawn by S. P. Woodward, Esq.)
| Fig. | 1.— | Elytron, or wing-case of Buprestis Bucklandi, Great Oolite; Stonesfield. |
| 2.— | Wing of Corydalis Brongniarti. (G. A. M.) Carboniferous; Coalbrook Dale. |
Fossil Coleoptera.—The elytra or wing-cases of coleopterous insects have long since been noticed in the oolitic slate at Stonesfield, near Oxford; a locality celebrated for the only mammalian relies hitherto discovered in the Secondly strata of England. The Stonesfield elytra are always found detached; in no instance, I believe, has any other part of an insect been observed, except a single leg of a Curculio (Bd. pl. xlvi′. fig. 10). The specimen figured [Lign. 181], fig. 1, displays the usual characters of the largest species. These fossils are of a reddish-brown colour, with a finely granulated surface; there appear to be four or five species, all of which belong to Buprestis, a family of beetles remarkable for their splendid metallic lustre. Remains of Coleoptera occur in the Tertiary clays near Corfe, Dorset,[498] and in the Lias of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire; and in the Danby oolitic coal-pits, in the eastern moorlands of Yorkshire, the elytra of beetles have also been discovered, by Mr. R. C. Taylor (Bd. vol. ii. p. 78).
[498] See Notice by the Rev. Mr. Brodie, Quart. Geol. Journ. vol. ix. p. 51.
A most remarkable fossil of this kind is described by Dr. Buckland; a unique specimen of Buprestis, from Japan, about an inch long, converted into chalcedony, with the antennæ and portions of the legs finely preserved. The surface of this insect is covered with clusters of minute concentric rings of chalcedony; an appearance common in silicified shells. Associated with this fossil, were fragments of silicified wood, bored with tubular cavities, apparently by the larvæ of insects of this family; and within these cavities was a quantity of dust produced by the boring, also converted into chalcedony (Bd. vol. ii. p. 78).
Of the Curculio, a genus of coleoptera distinguished by their splendid elytra, of which the Diamond Beetle is a familiar example, the remains of two species have been discovered in the nodular ironstone of Coalbrook Dale, by Mr. W. Anstice, and are figured and described by Dr. Buckland (Bd. vol. ii. p. 76; and pl. xlvi′. figs. 1, 2). In one of these specimens (Curculioides Ansticii), with the exception of the rostrum and anterior part of the head, all the essential characters of the insect are displayed; namely, the elytra, thorax, and six legs, the hindmost of which exhibits the enlarged femur, or thigh, a character peculiar to the Curculionidæ. The legs possess a tufted appearance, which that eminent entomologist, Mr. Curtis, conceives may have been caused by fungi, after the death of the animal, as often happens in tropical climates. In the other example (C. Prestvichii), the insect lies on its back, with the left side raised upwards, and exhibiting a portion of the external surface of the left elytron; there are remains of the antennæ, and indications of the proboscis and of the legs.
