A coral-linked adaptive radiation in butterflyfishes

Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontinae) show a recent coral-linked adaptive radiation, originating 7.78 million years ago, with most extant species diversity arising within the past 2 million years.

• Why it matters: Reef fish diversity could reflect slow accumulation or rapid ecological diversification, but the drivers of adaptive radiation on coral reefs remain unclear.
• What they did: A time-calibrated phylogeny of 120 of 138 Chaetodontidae species was built from 1,009 ultraconserved elements, then ancestral state reconstructions tested shifts in corallivory and jaw traits.
• The result: Crown diversification rates for butterflyfishes are the highest among 29 comparator reef-fish lineages, and obligate corallivory evolved repeatedly from facultative ancestors alongside derived tooth morphologies.

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