Insect-Plant Interactions from the Mesozoic of Brazil: Triassic and Cretaceous

The ability of phytophagous insects to utilize plant tissues for energy has changed over different mass extinctions and geologic events. Insects consist of mutually independent systems, while plants consist of a set of units that compete with one another. These differences in the organization patterns of organisms lead to different patterns of evolution and ecology, which are variously interrelated, leading to continuous complex interactions. The analysis of herbivore traces in plant fossils can provide valuable data for understanding the coevolution between insects and vascular plants and their interrelatedness in ancient ecosystems. Insect-plant interactions during the Mesozoic can be estimated from both the Triassic and Cretaceous deposits of Brazil. Here, we provide an overview of insect-plant interactions from several localities and paleofloras from different Mesozoic time intervals. In general, the Triassic flora consists of elements of several major plant groups, including corystosperms, conifers, ginkgophytes, sphenophytes, lycophytes, and unaffiliated fossil plants. All types of functional feeding groups (FFGs) are recorded from these Triassic plants. In Cretaceous floras, interactions have been identified from specimens of ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms so far. Insect-plant interactions from Brazilian Mesozoic strata are an underexplored interdisciplinary topic demanding further comprehensive studies to understand the functional network of southwestern Gondwanan ecosystems.