Data from: Patterns of cranial ontogeny in lacertid lizards: morphological and allometric disparity

We explored the ontogenetic dynamics of the morphological and allometric
disparity in the cranium shapes of twelve lacertid lizard species. The
analysed species (Darevskia praticola, Dinarolacerta mosorensis,
Iberolacerta horvathi, Lacerta agilis, L. trilineata, L. viridis, Podarcis
erhardii, P. melisellensis, P. muralis, P. sicula, P. taurica and Zootoca
vivipara) can be classified into different ecomorphs: terrestrial lizards
that inhabit vegetated habitats (habitats with lush or sparse vegetation),
saxicolous and shrub-climbing lizards. We observed that there was an
overall increase in the morphological disparity (MD) during the ontogeny
of the lacertid lizards. The ventral cranium, which is involved in the
mechanics of jaw movement and feeding, showed higher levels of MD, an
ontogenetic shift in the morphospace planes and more variable allometric
patterns than more conserved dorsal crania. With respect to ecology, the
allometric trajectories of the shrub-climbing species tended to cluster
together, whereas the allometric trajectories of the saxicolous species
were highly dispersed. Our results indicate that the ontogenetic patterns
of morphological and allometric disparity in the lacertid lizards are
modified by ecology and functional constraints and that the identical
mechanisms that lead to intraspecific morphological variation also produce
morphological divergence at higher taxonomic levels.