Data from: Tempo does not correlate with mode in the fossil record

The dominating view of evolution based on the fossil record is that
established species remain more or less unaltered during their existence.
Substantial evolution is on the other hand routinely reported for
contemporary populations, and most quantitative traits show high potential
for evolution. These contrasting observations on long and short time
scales are often referred to as the paradox of stasis, which rests on the
fundamental assumption that periods of morphological stasis in the fossil
record represent minimal evolutionary change. Investigating 450 fossil
time series, I demonstrate that the non-accumulating morphological
fluctuations during stasis travel similar distances in morphospace space
compared to lineages showing directional change. Hence, lineages showing
stasis are commonly undergoing considerable amounts of evolution, but this
evolution does not accumulate to produce large net evolutionary changes
over time. Rates of evolutionary change across modes in the fossil record
may be more homogenous than previously assumed and advocated, supporting
the claim that substantial evolution is not exclusively or causally linked
to the process of speciation. Instead of exemplifying minimal evolution,
stasis likely represents information on the dynamics of the adaptive
landscape on macroevolutionary time scales, including the persistence of
adaptive zones and ecological niches over millions of years.