Data from: Converging or diverging? Shape coevolution between a sperm-dependent asexual and its sexual hosts

Asexual species, despite lacking recombination, can evolve in response to
environmental changes and influence the evolutionary trajectory of
coexisting sexual species. Gynogenesis, where asexual females rely on
sperm from males of a different species, offers a unique perspective on
the eco-evolutionary dynamics between asexual females and their sexual
hosts. The Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa, is a gynogenetic species that
primarily uses sperm from two sympatric sexual species: the Sailfin molly
(P. latipinna) and the Atlantic molly (P. mexicana). We analyzed shape
variation among wild P. formosa, P. latipinna, and P. mexicana females to
understand Amazon molly shape variation relative to their sexual hosts. We
tested three hypotheses: (i) Amazon mollies mimic their sexual hosts to
enhance mating opportunities (sexual mimicry hypothesis); (ii) ecological
interactions or male mate choice drive morphological divergence (character
displacement hypothesis); and (iii) Amazon mollies exhibit random shape
variation due to their asexual nature (null hypothesis). Our findings
revealed significant shape variation in Amazon mollies, which differ from
their sexual hosts in a host-specific manner (e.g., Amazon mollies with P.
latipinna resemble P. mexicana and vice versa), supporting character
displacement at the interspecific level in a sexual-asexual system.