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The researchers revealed that the respective frequency and diversity of plant-insect interactions before and after the end-Triassic mass extinction event are almost the same, despite a substantial turnover of floral components. This suggests that insect herbivores were largely able to switch to alternative (but commonly related) plant groups during the dramatic floristic turnover and

environmental changes at the end of the Triassic.

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.