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Issue: Vol. 7 No. 5: October 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-10-30
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.5.6
Page range: 628–637
Abstract views: 97
PDF downloaded: 72

Arthropod coprolites and wound reaction in the late Paleozoic climbing fern Hansopteris

State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Petroleum Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Petroleum Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; Centre of Palaeobiodiversity, West Bohemian Museum in Pilsen, Kopeckého sady 2, Plzeň 30100, Czech Republic
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Petroleum Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Petroleum Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
plant-arthropod interaction boring tunnel traumatic stimulus fossil climber pyrite framboid Wuda Tuff Flora

Abstract

Interactions between arthropods and plants have been documented extensively in late Paleozoic trees and ground cover plants, but they have rarely been recorded in late Paleozoic climbers. In this study, we present the second example of coprolites preserved within the plant tissue from the early Permian fossil Lagerstätte Wuda Tuff Flora. The host axis is identified as a phyllophore of the climbing fern Hansopteris uncinatus by the combined evidence of anatomy, morphology, and associated plants. Unlike the first coprolites, which were suggested to be produced by oribatid mites, the culprit of the studied coprolites was likely a myriapod or beetle, indicated by their slightly larger size and the boring behaviour. Furthermore, anomalous parenchymatous cells, sclerenchymatous cells, and metaxylem tracheids have been observed surrounding the tunnel, suggesting responses to traumatic stimulus caused by arthropod damage. This discovery provides an informative example of arthropod herbivory on late Paleozoic climbers and sheds light on how the host plant responded during the early stage of injury.

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