Data from: Trophic divergence despite morphological convergence in a continental radiation of snakes

Ecological and phenotypic convergence is a potential outcome of adaptive
radiation in response to ecological opportunity. However, a number of
factors may limit convergence during evolutionary radiations, including
interregional differences in biogeographic history and clade-specific
constraints on form and function. Here, we demonstrate that a single clade
of terrestrial snakes from Australia—the oxyuranine elapids—exhibits
widespread morphological convergence with a phylogenetically diverse and
distantly related assemblage of snakes from North America. Australian
elapids have evolved nearly the full spectrum of phenotypic modalities
that occurs among North American snakes. Much of the convergence appears
to involve the recurrent evolution of stereotyped morphologies associated
with foraging mode, locomotion and habitat use. By contrast, analysis of
snake diets indicates striking divergence in feeding ecology between these
faunas, partially reflecting regional differences in ecological allometry
between Australia and North America. Widespread phenotypic convergence
with the North American snake fauna coupled with divergence in feeding
ecology are clear examples of how independent continental radiations may
converge along some ecological axes yet differ profoundly along others.