Description of a new grylloblattidan insect from Montceau-les-Mines (Late Carboniferous; France) and definition of Phenopterum Carpenter, 1950

The grylloblattidan species briggsi sp.n. from the Stephanian (Late Carboniferous) deposit of Montceau-les-Mines (France) is described from a well-preserved specimen exhibiting parts of both wing pairs. The forewing variability of the closely related species elongatum Sellards, 1909: 156, from the Artinskian deposit of Elmo (KS, U.S.A.), is documented. On the basis of new data, the taxon name Phenopterum Carpenter, 1950 is associated with a definition under the cladotypic nomenclatural procedure. The species briggsi sp.n., elongatum Sellards, 1909: 156, unicolor Storozhenko, 1992, elegans Handlirsch, 1911 and raketa Kukalova, 1964 belong to Phenopterum as defined. Advantages of the cladotypic nomenclatural procedure are discussed in this case. For compliance with the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, it is proposed to assign the species briggsi sp.n. to the taxon Phenopterum, which has the status of a genus under the Linnaean nomenclatural procedure.