Deciphering plant insect interactions from the Bruay Formation (Carboniferous, Nord / Pas-De-Calais coal basin, France)

Abstract

Plant-animal interactions shed light on the ecology of the rich insect community from the middle Pennsylvanian basin of Northern France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais coal basin, Hauts-de-France). The data set derives from coal bed layers locally named the Bruay Formation and were collected on the slag heap. This work is a meta-analysis of the different types of damages caused by arthropods, especially insects, consisting of endophytic oviposition scars, holes, galls, bulges, and undetermined traces. These damage traces are associated with host plants belonging to Lycopsida, Medullosales, Pinopsida, and Polypodiopsida. The paleoenvironmental framework and mutualism within each community are also discussed. Based on the present discoveries in Northern France, these interactions may have occurred stratigraphically from Westphalian B (Anzin Formation) until to Westphalian C (Bruay Formation). Despite the limited fossilization potential and sampling difficulties due to slag heap bias, occurrences may be compared with other European localities of the Carboniferous age.