Data from: Rapid divergence of nesting depth and digging appendages among tunneling dung beetle populations and species

Many dung beetle communities are characterized by species that share very
similar morphological, ecological, and behavioral traits and requirements
yet appear to be stably maintained. Here, we document that the
morphologically nearly indistinguishable, sympatric, and syntopic
tunneling sister species Onthophagus taurus and Onthophagus illyricus may
be avoiding competitive exclusion by nesting at remarkably different soil
depths. Intriguingly, we also find rapid divergence in preferred nesting
depth across native and recently established O. taurus populations.
Furthermore, geometric morphometric analyses reveal that both inter- and
intraspecific divergences in nesting depth are paralleled by similar
changes in the shape of the primary digging appendages, the fore tibiae.
Collectively, our results identify preferred nesting depth and tibial
shape as surprisingly evolutionarily labile and with the potential to ease
interspecific competition and/or to facilitate adaptation to local
climatic conditions.