Rich specialized insect damage on Pliocene leaves from the Mahuadanr Valley (India) growing under a warm climate with weak seasonality.

ABSTRACT: Plant-insect interactions play a crucial role in shaping terrestrial ecosystems, influencing abundance and distribution of plant species. In the present study, we investigated leaf-mining patterns on fossil leaves from Pliocene strata of the Mahuadanr Valley, Jharkhand, eastern India, deposited under a seasonal tropical climate, and reported complex interactions between plants and insects. We identified 11 distinct mining morphotypes. These morphotypes were mainly found on Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, and Moraceae; similar mining traces were also observed in the contemporary vegetation surrounding the fossil site. Although mining richness was relatively high, only 2.6% of all leaves in the fossil assemblage were mined. We compared mining richness and abundance values with previou

SUBMITTER: Adroit B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10927363 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature