''Archimylacris'' (meaning "primitive '' Mylacris''", in reference to another species of Carboniferous cockroach) is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known ...

-like

blattoptera "Roachoids", also known as "Roachids" or "Blattoids" are members of the stem group of Dictyoptera (the group containing modern cockroaches, termites and praying mantises). They generally resemble cockroaches, but most members, unlike modern dicty ...

ns, a group of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...

s ancestral to cockroaches,

mantid Mantidae is one of the largest families in the order of praying mantises, based on the type species ''Mantis religiosa''; however, most genera are tropical or subtropical. Historically, this was the only family in the order, and many reference ...

s, and

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

s. ''Archimylacris'' lived on the warm,

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages ...

s of North America and Europe 300 million years ago, in the Late

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferou ...

times. Like modern cockroaches, this insect had a large head shield with long, curved antennae, or feelers, and folded wings. To a modern observer, it would likely appear as a moderate-sized cockroach, with a "tail" (

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

) in the female. Presumably, its habits would be cockroach-like, too, scurrying along the

undergrowth Undergrowth usually refers to the vegetation in the lower part of a forest, which can obstruct passage through the forest. The height of undergrowth is usually considered to be 0.3 – 3 m (1 – 9 ft.). Undergrowth can also refer to all ...

eating anything edible, possibly falling prey to

labyrinthodont "Labyrinthodontia" (Greek, 'maze-toothed') is an informal grouping of extinct predatory amphibians which were major components of ecosystems in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras (about 390 to 150 million years ago). Traditionally conside ...

amphibians and very early reptiles. The average length of ''Archimylacris'' species was 2–3 cm."A Monograph of the Fossil Insects of the British Coal Measures"
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References

Pennsylvanian insects Prehistoric insect genera Paleozoic insects of North America Transitional fossils Paleozoic insects of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1868 Paleozoic life of Nova Scotia Pennsylvanian animals of North America Pennsylvanian animals of Europe Fossils of Wales {{Carboniferous-animal-stub