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. 2023 Jan;110(1):e16082.
doi: 10.1002/ajb2.16082. Epub 2022 Dec 15.

An early snapshot of plant-herbivore interactions: Psilophyton diakanthon sp. nov. from the Early Devonian of Gaspé (Quebec, Canada)

Courtney M Colston  1 , Kevin Landaw  1 , Alexandru M F Tomescu  1
Affiliations
Free article

An early snapshot of plant-herbivore interactions: Psilophyton diakanthon sp. nov. from the Early Devonian of Gaspé (Quebec, Canada)

Courtney M Colston et al. Am J Bot. 2023 Jan.
Free article

Abstract

Premise: Trimerophytes are a plexus of early tracheophytes that form the base of the euphyllophyte clade and, thus, represent the link between the earliest land plants and modern-day ferns, sphenophytes, and seed plants. As the best-characterized trimerophyte, the genus Psilophyton occupies a key position in the euphyllophyte fossil record. We describe a new Psilophyton species that has implications for the evolution of plant-animal interactions.

Methods: The fossil material is preserved by permineralization in the Lower Devonian (Emsian) Battery Point Formation (Québec, Canada) and was studied in serial sections using the cellulose acetate peel technique.

Results: Psilophyton diakanthon sp. nov. differs from other Psilophyton species in possessing fibers that form a discontinuous layer in the inner cortex and two distinct types of spinescent emergences whose anatomy and morphology are consistent with roles in anti-herbivore defense.

Conclusions: Psilophyton diakanthon adds another species to an already diverse genus. Its two morphologically distinct types of spinescence suggest that herbivory was rampant in plant-animal interactions and demonstrate that anti-herbivory defenses had reached a previously unrecognized level of sophistication by 400 million years ago, in the Early Devonian.

Keywords: Devonian; Psilophyton; anti-herbivore defense; fossil; functional anatomy; herbivory; plant-animal interactions; spine; trimerophyte.

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References

REFERENCES

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