Skip to main content
Dryad

Data from: Foraging predicts the evolution of warning coloration and mimicry in snakes

Kojima, Yosuke1; Ito, Ryosuke2; Fukuyama, Ibuki2; Ohkubo, Yusaku3; Durso, Andrew4

Published May 23, 2024 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fqz612jzn

Data files

May 23, 2024 version files 872.04 MB

Abstract

Warning coloration and Batesian mimicry are classic examples of Darwinian evolution, but empirical evolutionary patterns are often paradoxical. We test whether a new factor, trade-offs with foraging, influences the evolution of striking coloration by integrating genetic and ecological data for aposematic and mimetic snakes (Elapidae and Dipsadidae). Our phylogenetic comparison of a total of 432 species demonstrated that dramatic changes in coloration were well-predicted by the foraging strategy. Multiple tests consistently indicated that warning coloration and conspicuous mimicry were more likely to evolve in species where foraging costs of conspicuous appearance were relaxed by the poor vision of their prey or concealed habitat. Reversion to crypsis was also well-predicted by ecology for elapids, but not for dipsadids. In contrast to a theoretical prediction and general trends, snakes’ conspicuous coloration was correlated with secretive ecology, suggesting that a selection regime underlies evolutionary patterns. We also found evidence that mimicry of inconspicuous models (pitvipers) may have evolved in association with foraging demand for crypsis. These findings demonstrate that foraging is an important factor necessary to understand the evolution, persistence, and diversity of warning coloration and mimicry of snakes, highlighting the significance of additional selective factors in solving the warning coloration paradox.