Bipartite network datasets for Permian host-plant--insect herbivory

Plant–insect associations have been a significant component of terrestrial ecology for over 400 million years. Exploring these interactions in the fossil record, through novel perspectives, provides a window into understanding evolutionary and ecological forces that shaped these interactions. For the past several decades, researchers have documented, described and categorized fossil evidence of these interactions. Drawing on powerful tools from network science, we propose here a bipartite network representation of fossilized plants and their herbivore-induced leaf damage to understand late Paleozoic plant–insect interactions at the local community level. We focus on four assemblages from north-central Texas, but the methods used in this work are general and can be applied to any well-preserved fossil flora. Network analysis can address key questions in the evolution of insect herbivory that often would be difficult to summarize using standard herbivory metrics.