Data from: The impact of phylogenetic dating method on interpreting trait evolution: a case study of Cretaceous–Palaeogene eutherian body-size evolution

The fossil record of the earliest Cenozoic contains the first large-bodied
placental mammals. Several evolutionary models have been invoked to
explain the transition from small to large body sizes, but methods for
determining evolutionary mode of trait change depend on input from tree
topology and divergence dates. Different dating methods may therefore
affect inference of evolutionary model. Here, we fit models of body mass
evolution onto dated phylogenies of Cretaceous and Palaeogene mammals,
comparing the effect of dating method on interpretation of evolutionary
model. Among traditional palaeontological dating approaches, an
Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model with high alpha parameters is recovered as
best-fitting when minimum-age dating is used, while branch-sharing methods
are highly sensitive to topology. Release or release–radiate models are
preferred when Bayesian fossilized birth–death method is used, but when
using stochastic cal3 dating of trees, a model of increased evolutionary
rate without a release in constraint at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary
has highest support. These results demonstrate unambiguously that choice
of dating method is critical for interpretation of continuous trait
evolution, and that care must therefore be taken to consider these effects
in macroevolutionary studies.