Evidence for plant-arthropod interactions in the fossil record |
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| Authors: | ANDREW C SCOTT |
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| Institution: | Department, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London. |
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| Abstract: | From a study of extant arthropods (particularly insects) and plants it is clear that there are many close interactions between the two groups, which must have co-evolved over a considerable period of time. Surprisingly, the fossil record of such interactions has hardly been studied and has therefore often been assumed to be non-existent. Interactions include feeding (e.g. leaf and spore/pollen feeding, leaf mining and wood boring), shelter (e.g. the formation of galls), transport, and reproduction (flower pollination). There is fossil evidence for all of these interactions from the time that arthropods and plants first colonized the land. The shortage of data results from lack of study rather than a real absence of interactions. |
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