Data from: Enemy at the gates: rapid defensive trait diversification in an adaptive radiation of lizards

Adaptive radiation, the product of rapid diversification of an ancestral
species into novel adaptive zones, has become pivotal in our understanding
of biodiversity. While it has widely been accepted that predators may
drive the process of adaptive radiation by creating ecological opportunity
(e.g. enemy-free space), the role of predators as selective agents in
defensive trait diversification remains controversial. Using phylogenetic
comparative methods, we provide evidence for an ‘early burst’ in the
diversification of antipredator phenotypes in Cordylinae, a relatively
small adaptive radiation of morphologically diverse southern African
lizards. The evolution of body armour appears to have been initially
rapid, but slowed down over time, consistent with the ecological
niche-filling model. We suggest that the observed ‘early burst’ pattern
could be attributed to shifts in vulnerability to different types of
predators (i.e. aerial versus terrestrial) associated with thermal habitat
partitioning. These results provide empirical evidence supporting the
hypothesis that predators or the interaction therewith might be key
components of ecological opportunity, though the way in which predators
influence morphological diversification requires further study.