A lake-level record of Lake Ledro (northern Italy) spans the entire Holocene with a chronology derived from 51 radiocarbon dates. It is based on a specific sedimentological approach that combines data from five sediment profiles sampled in distinct locations in the littoral zone. On a millennial scale, the lake-level record shows two successive periods from 11,700 to 4500 cal yr BP and from 4500 cal yr BP to the present, characterized by lower and higher average lake levels, respectively. In addition to key seasonal and inter-hemispherical changes in insolation, the major hydrological change around 4500 cal yr BP may be related to a non-linear response of the climate system to orbitally-driven gradual decrease in insolation. The Ledro record questions the notion of an accentuated summer rain regime in the northern Mediterranean borderlands during the boreal insolation maximum. Moreover, the Ledro record highlights that the Holocene was punctuated by successive centennial-scale highstands. Correlations with the Preboreal oscillation and the 8.2 ka event, and comparison with the atmospheric 14C residual record, suggest that short-lived lake-level fluctuations developed at Ledro in response to (1) final steps of the deglaciation in the North Atlantic area and (2) variations in solar activity.

The functional morphology and autecology of leperditicopid arthropods (Ordovician-uppermost Devonian) are analyzed in the light of well-preserved specimens from the Devonian of China and detailed comparisons with recent ostracodes. Leperditicopids were large, bivalved arthropods (adults ranging from 5 to about 50 mm in length) typically with an asymmetric carapace (strong ventral overlap), a complex muscular system (powerful adductors, extrinsic muscles, tendinous structures) whose insertions are preserved as scars on the inner surface of the exoskeleton and steinkerns, and an extensive radiating network of integumental sinuses probably involved in gaseous and ionic exchanges (oxygen uptake and transport, osmoregulation). The conspicuous chevron scars adjacent to the adductor scars are interpreted as the anchoring spots of mandibular tendinous structures possibly involved in the opening mechanism of the valves. The ultrastructure of the carapace is comparable to that of thick-shelled recent myodocopid ostracodes. A review of leperditicopid occurences (depositional environment, associated faunas and floras) shows that the group preferentially occupied very shallow marginal habitats (tidal flats, reef-flats, lagoons, embayments, or estuarian complexes) that were subjected to environmental stress (salinity, temperature, moisture). This ecological range implies specific adaptations (osmoregulation, resistance to desiccation) supported by morphological evidence (e.g., circulatory system, carapace closing system, thick shell). Most leperditicopids had epibenthic lifestyles and were probably detritus feeders. They may have been adapted (powerful mandibles) to scrape food on algal/microbial mats. Their typical pattern of occurrence (monospecificity, large numerical abundance) displays some of the characteristics of opportunistic populations (e.g., recent ostracodes, branchiopods) living in variable environments. Morphological similarities with Ostracoda are important (e.g., muscular and tendinous features, circulatory system, valve overlap, carapace ultrastructure) but taxonomic relationships with that group remain inconclusive because of the lack of evidence from soft parts.

Spinous oniscomorph millipedes are rare faunal components of the upper Palaeozoic (Shear, 1997). Amynilyspes (type species A. wortheni Scudder, 1882; OD) is an Upper Carboniferous spinous oniscomorph (pill millipede) which was first described from the Middle Pennsylvanian (Westphalian D equivalent) Fossil-Lagerstätte of Mazon Creek. Later Fritsch (1899) described two species (A. typicus and A. crescens) from the Wesphalian D Gaskohle of Nýřany in Bohemia. More recently A. typicus was recorded from the Stephanian B of the Saarland (Förster, 1973), then from the Stephanian B of the Blanzy-Montceau-les-Mines Basin (Langiaux and Sotty, 1977; Poplin, 1994). Although myriapods were already known to occur in the Montceau-les-Mines Lagerstätte (Langiaux and Sotty, 1976; Rolfe et al., 1982; Poplin and Heyler, 1994) the presence of Amynilyspes at Montceau-les-Mines was first published in a regional publication (“La Physiophile” Langiaux and Sotty, 1976, 1977), and it has passed almost unnoticed.

The Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätten of the Early Cambrian Maotianshan Shale record an apparently sudden conquest of pelagic niches by ten phyla of metazoans. One of these phyla is Chaetognatha, a group of predatory marine worms. Given their role as major predators in modern planktonic ecosystems, the chaetognaths discovered in the Maotianshan Shale (Yunnan Province, South China) suggest that the pelagos at the time was already quite complex. Modern chaetognaths, however, can be divided into benthic and pelagic forms; the pelagic nature of Eognathacantha ercainella should therefore be validated by strong morphological evidence.

Knowing that planktonic animals present morphological adaptations that increase their buoyancy, we studied the drag produced during the active phase of chaetognath locomotion for the modern forms Paraspadella gotoi (benthic) and Sagitta elegans (pelagic). By using a motion model developed by Jordan in 1992, we could calculate the resistive force produced by the undulatory movement of chaetognaths' bodies.

This mechanistic approach evaluates the effect of three motion parameters (relative speed, total length, and tail ratio) on the drag force produced during locomotion. Our results show that the increase of size contributes to higher drag while the shorter tail of the pelagic form balances this effect by reducing the wetted surface subject to friction. For chaetognaths, therefore, a bigger body (both in length and width) and a shorter tail indicate a pelagic lifestyle, a finding that can be applied to the study of the fossil Eognathacantha ercainella. A discriminant analysis can confirm that the Early Cambrian chaetognath presents a pelagic morphology with similarities to modern bathypelagic and mesopelagic species.

New species of ostracods are described from the Tremadoc of the Cordillera Oriental (Argentina). These are among the earliest well-documented records of Ostracoda sensu stricto. The ostracod assemblages are sourced from shallow marine clastics and are dominated by palaeocopes (Eopilla waisfeldae n. sp., Nanopsis coquena n. sp.), and the binodicope Kimsella luciae n. gen. and sp. Eopilla and Kimsella show affinities with species from paleocontinental Gondwana (e.g., Ibero-Armorica, Turkey, Australia, Carnic Alps), but Nanopsis is previously known only from paleocontinental Baltica. This study confirms that two of the major clades of Ordovician ostracods, namely the Binodicopa and the Palaeocopa, were already geographically widespread during the late Tremadoc, suggesting a still earlier origin for these groups, possibly from within the Cambrian to Early Ordovician Bradoriida. Evidence from soft-part anatomy indicates that phosphatocopids, the other group hypothesized to be ancestral ostracods, have apomorphies that preclude them as direct ancestors. The origin of ostracods is more likely to be found within the Bradoriida, a probable polyphyletic group that resembles Early Ordovician ostracods in the external sculpture of their bivalved carapace. Evidence from carapace morphology suggests that the ancestors of true ostracods might lie within the bradoriid groups Beyrichonidae and Hipponicharionidae, a hypothesis that can only truly be tested when more evidence from fossilized soft tissues becomes available.

The morphology of Tuzoia is reinterpreted in the light of abundant new specimens from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale (British Columbia, Canada) and Kaili (Guizhou, China) Lagerstätten. Tuzoia was a very large (up to 180 mm long) bivalved arthropod with a nonmineralized domelike carapace strengthened by prominent pointed features and often flanked by a lateral ridge bearing a spiny frill. The reticulate pattern of Tuzoia is comparable with that of present-day crustaceans (e.g., myodocope ostracods) and is interpreted as a structural compromise between exoskeletal lightness and high resistance to mechanical stress. Tuzoia had a pair of large, stalked, spherical, possibly compound eyes facing forward. Flagella-like antennae protruded through the anterior notch. No other appendages are known except possible filamentous setae underlying the carapace. Tuzoia typically occurs as laterally (lc) or dorsoventrally (dvc) compacted carapaces or single valves. Each type (lc or dvc) emphasizes particular aspects of the morphology (e.g., spiny lateral ridge, ventral margin) that were often interpreted as specific differences by previous authors. A revision of Tuzoia validates only 7 of the 23 named species. Tuzoia is placed tentatively within a group of large bivalved arthropods along with Isoxys and the possible ancestors of Thylacocephala (Lower Cambrian–Upper Cretaceous). In the Middle Cambrian, Tuzoia occurs across Laurentia, South and North China, and the Perigondwanan area (Bohemia) within a relatively narrow subtropical belt, indicating a high dispersal capability and possible latitudinal control on its distribution. Functional morphology, taphonomy, and the distributional pattern indicate that Tuzoia was a free-swimming arthropod.

Introduction. Knowledge of tephritid diversity in Senegal was poor before 2004, so PIP-COLEACP and CIRAD, in collaboration with Cérès-DPV, carried out, in 2004, trapping for preliminary detection of fruit flies in six orchards in the Niayes zone. Materials and methods. We selected three mixed mango orchards and three homogeneous mango orchards in this zone. In each orchard, we used three attractants: Terpinyl acetate (Ter), Trimedlure (Tri) and Torula (Tor). Traps were serviced weekly. Results. We captured 77 642 fruit flies in more than 4 months including mango season; they were represented by 18 identified fly species, including ten Ceratitis, six Dacus and two Bactrocera species. Two very serious pests were identified with the confirmation of Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) for cucurbit crops and the detection of B. invadens Drew Tsuruta & White for fruit crops. The two most abundant species of Ceratitis were C. cosyra and C. silvestrii. Discussion. We captured more fruit fly species in mixed mango orchards than in homogeneous mango orchards. Bactrocera invadens was also more abundant in mixed orchards, probably because of its polyphagous status. This new invasive species, B. invadens, can have many hosts in mixed mango orchards, enhancing its breeding potential. Conclusion. Effective management to deal with this alien species requires: (i) improvement of basic and applied research; (ii) an effective IPM package; (iii) an area-wide management approach; (iv) a sub-regional effort on the part of researchers, extension services, growers, exporters, farming associations and the different actors in fruit value chains (mainly mango).

A new component of the Early Palaeozoic arthropod fauna is described from a monospecific accumulate of carapaces in a Late Ordovician (Katian) hemipelagic mudstone from the Cardigan district of southwest Wales (UK). Its non-biomineralized carapace is preserved as a carbonaceous residue, as is more labile anatomy (soft-parts) including the inner lamella and sub-ovate structures near its antero-dorsal margin, which we interpret to be putative eyes. The depositional context and associated fauna indicate that the arthropods inhabited an area of deep water and high primary productivity above a pronounced submarine topography. The preserved density of carapaces suggests the arthropods may have congregated into shoals or been transported post-mortem into depressions which acted as detritus traps. The accumulate provides a rare example of soft-part preservation in hemipelagic mudstones and highlights the role of organic material as a locus for authigenic mineralization during metamorphism.

New three-dimensionally preserved specimens of two euthycarcinoid arthropods, namely Schramixerxes gerem and Sottyxerxes multiplex, allow complete description of both the dorsal and ventral sides of the exoskeleton. The functional morphology is tentatively interpreted for the first time. In S. gerem, the ‘thirteenth somite’, or ‘monosomite’ is fully described and re-interpreted as the main articulatory process of the body, between the cephalic region and the preabdomen. The morphology and arrangement of the two parts of the process clearly indicate that the anterior cephalic region of the body could move laterally and bend ventrally, while posterior somites could only move ventrally. Unlike several other euthycarcinoid species, the ventral side of the head area exhibits one or two plates instead of mandibles; such distinct morphologies are indicative of different feeding mechanisms and behaviours among euthycarcinoid arthropods. Possible homologies with the labrum of Hexapoda support the hypothesis that euthycarcinoids have hexapod affinities.

A study of type and newly collected material of the Silurian ostracod Richteria migrans (Barrande, 1872) demonstrates that it had wide distribution, occurring in at least the Czech Republic, France, Sardinia, Wales, central Asia and probably Poland. R. migrans has biostratigraphic value, as an indicator for the mid to late part of the Ludlow Series. It was almost certainly pelagic, living predominantly in probable shelf topographic lows to marginal/off-shelf environments, characteristically with cephalopod-graptolite-bivalve-dominant associates. It had at least five to six growth stages, exhibits polymorphic variation, and its morphology provides evidence to endorse the notion that ‘entomozoaceans’ are myodocopes.

Introduction. Cropping systems of the mango trees in West Africa are very varied. Each one of them developed in a specific context where the agronomical practices and the varietal composition of the orchards contribute to the diversity observed. The study undertaken should make it possible to better understand the influence of the potential outlets on the evolution of the regional mango production. Principal cropping systems. In the studied area, the main part of the mango orchards has less than 10 ha; their production is extensive and uses few inputs. They belong in majority to growers whose principal activity is centred on agriculture. Certain plantations close to 100 ha, found in Senegal or in Côte.d'ivoire, belong to exporters and profit from a technical assistance. Agronomical practices. The study of the agronomical practices used in mango orchards of West Africa made it possible to analyze the aspects of seedling production, choice of the site, installation of the orchard before plantation, plantation and maintenance of the trees, fire protection, water management, as well as the effect of the export market on the varietal choice and the varietal offer during a harvest campaign. Diseases and enemies. An inventory of the pathological problems and physiological diseases likely to devalue the production were carried out. Marketing. This part made it possible to distinguish intercontinental exports, requiring a specific harvest and conditioning organization, and the local, national and regional markets. Processing. Today, the share of transformed mangos into West Africa uses only one negligible proportion of the total production. Conclusion and prospects. Beside a traditional production which presents signs of brittleness appear modern orchards. More than a necessary intensification of the orchards, a rationalization of the agronomical practices, plant health protection, fruit harvest or handling are impossible to circumvent. Downstream, the export path is confronted with a fast evolution of the exogenous regulations, based on qualitative and sanitary standards increasingly strict.

Introduction. The mango tree is one of the most widespread fruit trees in West Africa. A history of its introduction into that area was recently published. To follow upon this document, the presented analysis was devoted to the principal varieties that are cultivated there today and to the impact of the historical and commercial factors on the varietal composition of the orchards. Some definitions. In precondition to an inventory of the varieties, certain terms making it possible to characterise them were specified (precocity, monoembryony and polyembryony) and some information on the origin of the Floridian varieties was provided. Principal varieties cultivated in West Africa. Four mango variety categories were distinguished: varieties of local or polyembryonic mangos (mangots and Number One), first monoembryonic varieties propagated by grafting (Amélie, Julie, Sabot, Djibelor and Cuisse Madame), and the Floridian varieties, also monoembryonic and propagated by grafting, introduced later and used either for export (Kent, Keitt, Palmer, Zill, Valencia, Smith, Irwin and Haden), or for the regional markets (Brooks, Davis-Haden, Miami Late, Springfels, Beverly, Eldon and Ruby). Each variety was described, like its farming characteristics and its outlets. The composition of the grafted mango tree orchards. This composition is influenced by the historical evolution and the purpose of the fruits that can be eaten, sold on the local, national or subregional market, exported toward the international market or processed in artisanal or industrial units. This orchard composition was specified for Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo.

Introduction. The mango tree today, very appreciated in West Africa for its fruit and its shade, is, however, of recent introduction in Africa. The article presents the history of its expansion in the zone. Mango tree expansion in West Africa. Originating from India, the mango tree was reported for the first time in West Africa, in Senegal, in 1824. It was at the end of the xixth century that the mango trees began to have a significant distribution, especially in the coastal zones. Their extension became significant during the first half of the xxth century. An Amélie mango tree introduced in Mali around the 1890s allowed the grafting of many trees, which were widely distributed in the bordering countries. At the end of the 1940s, collections were gradually established in the entire zone and, during the decade 1970–1980, every country in French-speaking West Africa had at least a collection of mango trees. Export trends. Mali was the first country to export mangos towards Europe, around the end of the 1960s. It was followed by Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, and especially the Côte d’Ivoire, whose exports, of approximately 2 500 t at the beginning of the 1990s, were multiplied by 4.5 in 2000. This fast growth of exports from the Côte d’Ivoire profited from the presence of a maritime front and of a mass effect created by pineapple and banana exports. Amélie for a long time constituted the main part of the exports of Mali, Burkina Faso and the Côte d’Ivoire. However, since 1971, experimental shipments of colored mangos have been successfully realized. With mango consumption becoming democratized in Europe, the choice of exported varieties was gradually tightened: Amélie, at the beginning of the harvest season, then Kent, Keitt and Palmer. Parallel to this varietal evolution, the packaging techniques were gradually modernized.

The Lower Cambrian Pardailhan Formation of the Montagne Noire (Southern France) has yielded a diverse fossil assemblage including bivalved arthropods (the bradoriids Monceretia erisylvia gen. et sp. nov., Cambria danvizcainia sp. nov. and Matthoria? sp., together with Isoxys sp.) associated with trilobites, hyolithids, inarticulate brachiopods, sponge spicules, ichnofossils and chancelloriid sclerites. This assemblage provides new evidence about the biodiversity of Early Cambrian marine communities in palaeocontinental Gondwana. The bradoriids are Cambriidae, a family with widespread distribution in offshore shelf marine environments during Early Cambrian times. The present study confirms the presence of cambriids within a subtropical latitudinal belt that encompasses Laurentia, Siberia and the Gondwanan margins from Southern France to South China. Although knowledge of the distribution of fossil cambriids is patchy, at the generic level they appear to be provincial, with Petrianna from Laurentia, Shangsiella and Auriculatella from South China, Cambria from Siberia and Gondwana (Armorica), and Monceretia gen nov. from Gondwana (Armorica). The presence of Isoxys in the Montagne-Noire confirms the cosmopolitan distribution of this genus in the Early and Middle Cambrian tropics. Cambriid bradoriids occupy a biostratigraphically narrow time interval, probably equating to part of the Atdabanian and Botomian stages of Russian terminology. Their presence in the Pardailhan Formation supports the notion of a Botomian age, determined from archaeocyathan evidence. The North American bradoriid genus Matthoria, also possibly present in the Pardailhan Formation, is reassigned to the Cambriidae.

Introduction. Les systèmes de production du manguier en Afrique de l’Ouest sont très variés. Chacun d’eux s’est développé dans un contexte spécifique où l’itinéraire technique et la composition variétale des plantations contribuent à la diversité observée. L’étude entreprise devrait permettre de mieux comprendre l’influence des débouchés potentiels sur l’évolution de cette filière horticole. Les principaux systèmes de plantation. Dans la région étudiée, l’essentiel des vergers de manguiers exploités a moins de 10 ha ; leur production est extensive et utilise peu d’intrants. Ils appartiennent en majorité à des planteurs dont l’activité principale est centrée sur l’agriculture. Certaines plantations proches de 100 ha, trouvées au Sénégal ou en Côte d’Ivoire, appartiennent à des exportateurs et bénéficient d’un encadrement technique. Les itinéraires techniques. L’étude des itinéraires techniques utilisés en vergers de manguiers en Afrique de l’Ouest a permis d’analyser les aspects de production de plants, choix du site, aménagement du verger avant plantation, plantation et entretien des arbres, protection contre les incendies, alimentation hydrique, ainsi que l’effet du marché d’exportation sur le choix variétal et l’offre variétale au cours d’une campagne de récolte. Maladies et ennemis. Un inventaire des problèmes pathologiques et des maladies physiologiques susceptibles de dévaloriser la production a été effectué. Commercialisation. Cette partie a permis de distinguer les exportations intercontinentales, nécessitant une organisation spécifique de la récolte et du conditionnement, et les marchés locaux, nationaux et régionaux. La transformation. Aujourd’hui, la part des mangues transformées en Afrique de l’Ouest n’utilise qu’une proportion infime de la production totale. Conclusion et perspectives. À côté d’une production traditionnelle qui présente des signes de fragilité apparaissent des vergers modernes. Plus qu’une intensification des vergers, par ailleurs nécessaire, une rationalisation des pratiques agronomiques, de la protection phytosanitaire, de la récolte ou de la manipulation des fruits est incontournable. En aval, la filière d’exportation se trouve confrontée à une évolution rapide des réglementations exogènes, basées sur des normes qualitatives et sanitaires de plus en plus strictes.

Introduction. Le manguier est l’un des arbres fruitiers les plus répandus en Afrique de l’Ouest. Un historique de son introduction dans la zone a été publié récemment. Pour faire suite à ce document, l’analyse présentée a été consacrée aux principales variétés qui y sont cultivées aujourd’hui et à l’impact des facteurs historiques et commerciaux sur la composition variétale des vergers. Quelques définitions. En préalable à un inventaire des variétés, certains termes permettant de les caractériser ont été précisés (précocité, monoembryonie et polyembryonie) et quelques informations sur l’origine des variétés floridiennes ont été fournies. Les principales variétés cultivées en Afrique de l’Ouest. Quatre catégories ont été distinguées : les variétés de mangues locales ou polyembryonnées (mangots, mangue du Cameroun), les premières variétés monoembryonnées propagées par greffage (Amélie, Julie, Sabot, Djibelor, Cuisse Madame), les variétés floridiennes, également monoembryonnées et propagées par greffage, introduites plus tardivement et utilisées soit pour l’exportation (Kent, Keitt, Palmer, Zill, Valencia, Smith, Irwin, Haden), soit pour les marchés régionaux (Brooks, Davis-Haden, Miami Late, Springfels, Beverly, Eldon, Ruby). Chaque variété a été décrite, de même ses caractéristiques culturales et ses débouchés. La composition des vergers de manguiers greffés. La composition des vergers greffés est influencée par l’évolution historique et la destination des fruits qui peuvent être autoconsommés, vendus sur le marché local, national ou sous-régional, exportés sur le marché international ou transformés dans des unités artisanales ou industrielles. Cette composition a été précisée pour la Guinée, le Mali, le Burkina-Faso, la Côte d’Ivoire, le Sénégal et le Togo.

Introduction. Le manguier aujourd’hui très apprécié en Afrique de l’Ouest pour ses fruits et son ombrage est pourtant d’introduction récente en Afrique. L’article retrace l’historique de son expansion dans la zone. L'expansion du manguier en Afrique de l’Ouest. Originaire d’Inde, le manguier a été signalé pour la première fois en Afrique de l’Ouest, au Sénégal, en 1824. C’est à la fin du xixe siècle que les manguiers ont commencé à connaître une diffusion significative, surtout dans les zones côtières. Leur extension deviendra importante pendant la première moitié du xxe siècle. Un manguier Amélie introduit au Mali vers 1890 fut à l’origine de nombreux plants greffés qui furent largement diffusés dans les pays limitrophes. Dès la fin des années 1940, des collections furent établies progressivement dans toute la zone et, au cours de la décennie 1970–1980, chaque pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest francophone possédait au moins une collection de manguiers. l'évolution des exportations. Le Mali fut le premier pays à exporter, vers la fin des années 1960, des mangues vers l’Europe. Il fut suivi par le Burkina, la Guinée, le Sénégal, et surtout la Côte d’Ivoire, dont les exportations, d’environ 2 500 t au début des années 1990, ont été multipliées par 4,5 en 2000. Cette croissance rapide des exportations ivoiriennes a bénéficié de la présence d’une façade maritime et d’un effet de masse créé par les exportations de bananes et d’ananas. Amélie a longtemps constitué l’essentiel des exportations du Mali, du Burkina Faso et de la Côte d’Ivoire. Cependant dès 1971, des expéditions expérimentales de mangues colorées furent réalisées avec succès. La consommation de mangues se démocratisant en Europe, le choix variétal s’est progressivement resserré : Amélie, en début de campagne, puis Kent, Keitt et Palmer. Parallèlement à cette évolution variétale, les techniques de conditionnement se sont progressivement modernisées.

The monotypic ostracode Entomozoe (pro Entomis) (Superorder Myodocopa) from the Silurian of Scotland, type genus of the Entomozoidae, is revised for the first time since being established in 1861. Based on the type and new collections of Entomozoe tuberosa (Jones, 1861), the genus shows affinity to bolbozoid myodocopes rather than to forms hitherto universally considered as ‘typical’ entomozoid myodocopes. The families Entomozoidae and Bolbozoidae are considered synonymous. In the interests of stability of nomenclature, in particular to preserve the traditionally understood usage of the taxon Entomozoidae, a case must be made to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to set aside any previous designations and to establish a new type-species for Entomozoe.

Entomozoe, from the Llandovery Series, is the earliest known myodocope in the fossil record. It occurs as part of a low diversity, shallow water, nearshore assemblage. In contrast to other, but younger, Silurian bolbozoid myodocopes, it is probably a benthic form. The differences in the anterior shell morphology of Silurian bolbozoid taxa possibly reflect changes both in soft-part morphology and from benthic to pelagic lifestyles within the group.

Both bolbozoid and ‘entomozoid’ myodocopes are assigned to the Order Myodocopida rather than to the Order Halocypridida, though the taxonomic affinity of the ‘entomozoids’ is, at best, uncertain.

If we consider only the theatrical movement which felt Artaud's influence during the period between the wars, or the “poetic” theatre of the post-war period which is merely its continuation, the problem of the language of the avant-garde seems to have only a very limited interest. In the works which these movements have produced, the originality of the language is more spectacular than profound. Or more precisely, we might say that it lies more in its nature than in its function.

The traditional dramatist, whose only end was to interest the spectator by the analysis of passions and characters, used a language which was never disquieting or bewildering because it represented more or less—decorated only with certain literary attributes— the language of the public for whom it was written. In the avant-garde we have just spoken of, theatrical language changes to the same degree that the dramatist's attitude towards his audience changes.