Diversification dynamics of Cheilostome Bryozoa based on a Bayesian analysis of the fossil record

Cheilostomata is the most diverse and ecologically dominant order of bryozoans living today. We apply a Bayesian framework to estimate macroevolutionary rates of cheilostomes since the Late Jurassic across four datasets: I) manually curated genus ranges, II) published text-mined genus ranges, III) non-revised Paleobiology Database (PBDB) records, IV) revised and augmented PBDB records. All datasets revealed increased origination rates in the Albian, and a twin K-Pg and Danian extinction rate peak. High origination rates in the late Selandian-Ypresian in Dataset I indicate the onset of an ascophoran-grade radiation. Lineage-through-time plots confirm the macroevolutionary lag preceding the radiation of cheilostomes in the mid-Cretaceous, and their renewed diversification in the late Paleocene and Eocene. A multivariate birth-death model indicates that origination rates are shaped by diversity-dependent dynamics coupled with a positive correlation with sea surface temperature, while extin...