The early fossil record of terrestrial arthropod herbivory consists of two pulses. The first pulse was concentrated during the latest Silurian to Early Devonian （417 to 403 Ma）, and consists of the earliest evidence...The early fossil record of terrestrial arthropod herbivory consists of two pulses. The first pulse was concentrated during the latest Silurian to Early Devonian （417 to 403 Ma）, and consists of the earliest evidence for consumption of sporangia and stems （and limited fungivore borings）. Herbivorization of most of these tissues was rapid, representing 0 to 20 million-year （m.y.） lags from the earliest occurrences of these organs in the fossil record to their initial consumption （Phase 1）. For approximately the next 75 m.y., there was a second, more histologically varied origination and expansion of roots, leaves, wood and seeds, whose earliest evidence for herbivorization occurred from the Middle-Late Mississippian boundary to the Middle Pennsylvanian （327 to 309 Ma）. The appearance of this second herbivory pulse during the later Paleozoic （Phase 2） is accompanied by major lags of 98 to 54 m.y. between times of appearance of each of the four organ and tissue types and their subsequent herbivory. Both pulses provide a context for three emerging questions. First is an explanation for the contrast between the near instantaneous consumption of plant tissues during Phase 1, versus the exceptionally long lags between the earliest occurrences of plant tissues and their subsequent herbivorization during Phase 2. Second is the identity of arthropod herbivores for both phases. Third is the cause behind the overwhelming targeting of seed-fern plant hosts during Phase 2. Regardless of the answers to these questions, the trace fossil record of plant-arthropod associations provides primary ecological data that remain unaddressed by the body-fossil record alone.展开更多
Temporary mining is a peculiar behavioral trait in leaf parasites requiring adaptations of consecutive larval stages to the endophytic and ectophytic life. The first fossil evidence for the origin of the trait comes f...Temporary mining is a peculiar behavioral trait in leaf parasites requiring adaptations of consecutive larval stages to the endophytic and ectophytic life. The first fossil evidence for the origin of the trait comes from the Cretaceous （Turonian） plant-insect locality of the Negev Desert containing rich trace assemblages of leaf parasites, including blotch mines with leaf pieces cut out for case construction, as well as attached larval cases. The host plants are deciduous broadleafs or aquatic angiosperms with emergent leaves, suggesting that initial acquisition of the habit might have been related to leaf abscission and the risk for the larva being chocked in the mine during floods. Unlike tracks of permanent miners, temporary mines never co-occur on leaves with other type mines, which attests to their effect of enhancing plant resistance. Mine predation appears to have been widespread in the Cretaceous biotic community, suggesting a possibility of top-down regulation of mining habits at this early stage of their evolutionary development.展开更多
文摘The early fossil record of terrestrial arthropod herbivory consists of two pulses. The first pulse was concentrated during the latest Silurian to Early Devonian （417 to 403 Ma）, and consists of the earliest evidence for consumption of sporangia and stems （and limited fungivore borings）. Herbivorization of most of these tissues was rapid, representing 0 to 20 million-year （m.y.） lags from the earliest occurrences of these organs in the fossil record to their initial consumption （Phase 1）. For approximately the next 75 m.y., there was a second, more histologically varied origination and expansion of roots, leaves, wood and seeds, whose earliest evidence for herbivorization occurred from the Middle-Late Mississippian boundary to the Middle Pennsylvanian （327 to 309 Ma）. The appearance of this second herbivory pulse during the later Paleozoic （Phase 2） is accompanied by major lags of 98 to 54 m.y. between times of appearance of each of the four organ and tissue types and their subsequent herbivory. Both pulses provide a context for three emerging questions. First is an explanation for the contrast between the near instantaneous consumption of plant tissues during Phase 1, versus the exceptionally long lags between the earliest occurrences of plant tissues and their subsequent herbivorization during Phase 2. Second is the identity of arthropod herbivores for both phases. Third is the cause behind the overwhelming targeting of seed-fern plant hosts during Phase 2. Regardless of the answers to these questions, the trace fossil record of plant-arthropod associations provides primary ecological data that remain unaddressed by the body-fossil record alone.
文摘Temporary mining is a peculiar behavioral trait in leaf parasites requiring adaptations of consecutive larval stages to the endophytic and ectophytic life. The first fossil evidence for the origin of the trait comes from the Cretaceous （Turonian） plant-insect locality of the Negev Desert containing rich trace assemblages of leaf parasites, including blotch mines with leaf pieces cut out for case construction, as well as attached larval cases. The host plants are deciduous broadleafs or aquatic angiosperms with emergent leaves, suggesting that initial acquisition of the habit might have been related to leaf abscission and the risk for the larva being chocked in the mine during floods. Unlike tracks of permanent miners, temporary mines never co-occur on leaves with other type mines, which attests to their effect of enhancing plant resistance. Mine predation appears to have been widespread in the Cretaceous biotic community, suggesting a possibility of top-down regulation of mining habits at this early stage of their evolutionary development.
