Data from: Post-Cretaceous bursts of evolution along the benthic-pelagic axis in marine fishes

Ecological opportunity arising in the aftermath of mass extinction events
is thought to be a powerful driver of evolutionary radiations. Here, we
assessed how the wake of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction
shaped diversification dynamics in a clade of mostly marine fishes
(Carangaria), which comprises a disparate array of benthic and pelagic
dwellers including some of the most astonishing fish forms (e.g.,
flatfishes, billfishes, remoras, archerfishes). Analyses of lineage
diversification show time-heterogeneous rates of lineage diversification
in carangarians, with highest rates reached during the Paleocene.
Likewise, a remarkable proportion of Carangaria’s morphological variation
originated early in the history of the group and in tandem with a marked
incidence of habitat shifts. Taken together, these results suggest that
all major lineages and body plans in Carangaria originated in an early
burst shortly after the K-Pg mass extinction, which ultimately allowed the
occupation of newly released niches along the benthic-pelagic habitat
axis.