Supplementary material from "Evolutionary allometry and ecological correlates of fang length evolution in vipers"
Description
Predatory traits for prey acquisition form the phenotypic interface of predator–prey interactions. In venomous predators, morphological variation in venom delivery apparatus like fangs and stingers may be optimized for dispatching prey. Here, we determine how a single dimension of venom injection systems evolves in response to variation in the size, climatic conditions and dietary ecology of viperid snakes. We measured fang length in more than 1900 museum specimens representing 199 viper species (55% of recognized species). We find both phylogenetic signal and within-clade variation in relative fang length across vipers suggesting both general taxonomic trends and putatively adaptive divergence in fang length. We recover positive evolutionary allometry and little static allometry in fang length. Proportionally longer fangs have evolved in larger species, which may facilitate venom injection in more voluminous prey. Finally, we leverage climatic and diet data to assess the global correlates of fang length. We find that models of fang length evolution are improved through the inclusion of both temperature and diet, particularly the extent to which diets are mammal-heavy diets. These findings demonstrate how adaptive variation can emerge among components of complex prey capture systems.
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Publisher
figshare Academic Research System
DOI
10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6166904
Document Type
Data Set
Recommended Citation
Mason, Andrew J.; Rokyta, Darin R.; Davis, Mark A.; Rautsaw, Rhett M.; Parkinson, Christopher L.; Holding, Matthew L.; Trevine, Vivian C.; Zinenko, Oleksandr; Strickland, Jason L.; Santana, Sharlene E.; Hogan, Michael P.; Grazziotin, Felipe G. (2022), "Supplementary material from "Evolutionary allometry and ecological correlates of fang length evolution in vipers"", figshare Academic Research System, doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6166904
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6166904
Identifier
10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6166904
Embargo Date
1-1-2022