Data from: Running in circles in phylomorphospace: host environment constrains morphological diversification in parasitic wasps

Understanding phenotypic diversification and the conditions that spur
morphological novelty or constraint is a major theme in evolutionary
biology. Unequal morphological diversity between sister clades can result
from either differences in the rate of morphological change or in the
ability of clades to explore novel phenotype ranges. We combine an
existing phylogenetic framework with new phylogenomic data and geometric
morphometrics to explore the relative roles of rate versus mode of
morphological evolution for a hyperdiverse group: cryptine ichneumonid
wasps. Data from genomic ultraconserved elements (UCEs) confirm that
cryptines are divided into two large clades: one specialized in the use of
hosts that are deeply concealed under hard substrates, and another with a
much more diversified host range. Using a phylomorphospace approach, we
show that both clades have experienced similar rates of morphological
evolution. Nonetheless, the more specialized group is much more restricted
in morphospace occupation, indicating that it repeatedly evolved
morphological change through the same morphospace regions. This is in
agreement with our prediction that host use imposes constraints in the
morphospace available to lineages, and reinforces an important distinction
between evolutionary stasis as opposed to a scenario of continual
morphological change restricted to a certain range of morphotypes.