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Fossils reveal plant–insect interactions across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in south China

A recent study of fossil plants reveals plant–insect interactions across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in the Sichuan Basin, South China. This study was conducted by an international research team led by Prof. Wang Yongdong from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), in collaboration with Prof. Stephen McLoughlin from the Swedish Museum of Natural History.

Sporadic occurrences of foliar modifications, such as marginal cusps on the pinnules of Pterophyllum and prominent ridges on the rachises of some ferns and bennettites are interpreted as adaptations for defense against insect herbivores.

"Some differences in taxonomic composition and herbivory representation between the latest Triassic Xujiahe flora and the earliest Jurassic Zhenzhuchong flora are more likely to be related to collection and preservational biases rather than to palaeoecological changes," said Xu.

This preliminary assessment of herbivory across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary calls for complementary studies in the Sichuan Basin, South China, to verify the regional patterns of vegetation and herbivory change in the subtropics of East Asia, and to encourage equivalent studies from other parts of the world to clarify the global patterns of plant-insect interactions and floristic change during this major event in Earth's history.