The given statement implies that arthropods had more time to co-evolve with land plants than vertebrates
Co-evolution is a type of evolution in which two species reciprocally affect each others evolution in a way that they both evolve together
Fossil evidence gives the progressive interaction between arthropods and land plants through the later Paleozoic and Mesozoic era
Evidence includes the evolution of chemical defense strategy by plants along with the evolution of different mouthpart design in new insect groups
Leaf galls became common in Cretaceous coinciding with the evolution of several new insect groups and plants
Data from coprolites(trace fossils) suggest that spore feeding preceded leaf feeding,experiments have indicated that some spores remain viable after passing through the gut and hence this feeding habit might have been advantageous to some early plants for propagule formation