Plant-insect interactions of the Matzitzi and Tuzancoa formations during the Permian

Abstract

In this work a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the herbivory in foliar elements of the Permian of Mexico was carried out, four functional feeding groups with low occurrence in the paleoflora of the Permian of Mexico were identified. All this data helps to better understand ecological relationships in past ecosystems. The new data come from two formations, Tuzancoa (state of Hidalgo) and Matzitzi (state of Puebla), from the lower and upper Permian respectively. A total of 827 specimens housed in the Paleontology Collection of the FES Zaragoza were analyzed. First, the fossils were identified taxonomically based on morphological characters. Subsequently, the damage observed on the leaf elements was qualitatively analyzed and described. The damages were assigns to functional feeding groups (FFG) and subsequently to damage types (DT). For the Tuzancoa Formation, a total of 241 fossils were identified and assigned to four orders and nine genera, the most abundant being Mariopteris and Taeniopteris. Regarding these, a total of three functional groups were identified: all of them on Comia leaves, margin feeding, hole feeding, and oviposition. Along with this, five types of damage were identified (DT02, DT04, DT05, DT15 and DT101). Another important point to mention is the low percentage of damage frequency that is around 0.82%. For the Matzitzi Formation, a total of 586 fossils were identified, assigned to 11 orders and 25 genera, the best represented being the ferns of the genus Asterotheca and the leaf incertae sedis Velascophyllum. Two functional groups were identified, hole feeding and galling. The first functional group was identified on a Gigantonoclea leaf and belongs to Dt05 group. On the other hand, the galls have a greater diversity of shapes and sizes (DT49, DT117, DT70, DT259 and DT266); These damages are located on foliar elements of Velascophyllum, Cordaites, Calamites, Asterotheca and Diplazites. Once again, a low percentage of damage frequency is observed, around 2.5%. Herbivory studies in Mexico are still in an early stage and it is necessary to continue with this line of research to have a better understanding of plant-insect interactions in late Paleozoic ecosystems.