DOI: 10.5061/dryad.kprr4xhff
title: Data from: Correlated evolution of multiple traits gives butterflies a false head

description: Many butterflies possess a combination of characters at the posterior
 hindwing end, superficially resembling their head. This ‘false head’ has
 been hypothesised to deflect predator attacks towards the false head area.
 A clear understanding of the diversity and evolution of false head traits
 across butterflies is lacking. Here, we tested whether false head traits
 evolved from simple to complex in order to achieve a greater resemblance
 to a head. We also tested if false head traits formed an adaptive
 constellation and, thus, evolved in correlation. Using a phylogenetic
 framework with 927 lycaenid species, our results illustrate evolutionary
 patterns of five false traits - (i) false antennae, (ii) spot, (iii)
 conspicuous colouration in the false head area, (iv) false head contour in
 the false head area, and (v) convergent lines. We found that false traits
 (i)–(iv) evolved in a correlated fashion across the phylogeny, likely
 driven by a common selective pressure. Our findings support the idea that
 false head functions as an adaptive constellation for predator attack
 deflection.
description: # Correlated evolution of multiple traits gives butterflies a fasle head R
 codes and datasets used to model the evolution of false head traits in
 butterflies ### Sequence Data **Filename:** `928sp_sequences.xlsx`
 **Description:** This file contains all the gene sequences with sequence
 ID for all the species used to reconstruct the constrained Lycaenidae
 phylogeny. This datafile contains the downloaded sequences of 9 genes from
 NCBI; "NA" represents sequences not available on NCBI. The
 column with the header "Name" is the list of species. For each
 gene, there are three columns with headers "XXseqID",
 "XXsequencelength" and "XXsequence" for gene sequence
 ID, length of the sequence and the nucleotide sequence respectively, where
 XX represents the gene. ### Phylogenies **Filename:**
 `21Jan2025_30June23_SubfamAdded_RelTime_DivergenceTime_928sp.nwk`
 **Description:** This file is the time-calibrated phylogeny of the 928
 species. This phylogeny and the pruned ones derived from this were used
 for our main analyses **Filename:**
 `6Feb2025_pruned_Espeland_Magallon_calibration.nex` **Description:** This
 file is the time-calibrated phylogeny pruned from the phylogeny by
 Espeland et al (2018). We used this phylogeny for our analyses on the
 correlated evolutionary pattern at a broader level, representing 98% of
 all butterfly subtribes. Results from these analyses are reported in the
 supplementary file. ### False head traits Data for Lycaenidae tree (main
 analyses) **Filename:** `21Jan2025_FalseHead_Data_Analyses.csv`
 **Description:** This file contains the raw data used in the analysis.
 Each false head trait is coded as a binary trait with 0 for absence and 1
 for presence; "NA" represents unknown status. The name of the
 false head trait is also the header for the corresponding column. The
 header "taxa" represents species included in our study and the
 column with header "subfamily" contains the first three initials
 of the species subfamily. # Data for wingspan analysis
 **Filename:**` FHData_Wingspan_FalseHead.csv` **Description:** This file
 contains the data used in the analysis for wingspan effect on the number
 of false head traits. Each false head trait is coded as a binary trait
 with 0 for absence and 1 for presence. The name of the false head trait is
 also the header for the corresponding column. The header
 "treetaxa" represents species included in this analysis. The
 wingspan in centimeters for each species are given in the column under the
 header`"mean_`WS". The total number of false head traits
 possessed by each species is given in the column under the header
 "Fhnumber". ### False head traits Data for Espeland tree
 (reported in supplementary file) **Filename:**
 `6Feb2025_allFHdata_pruned_Espeland_Magallon_calibration.csv`
 **Description:** This file contains the false head traits data for
 analysing correlated patterns at a broader scale using
 `6Feb2025_pruned_Espeland_Magallon_calibration.nex`. The header
 descriptions are self-explanatory and similar to main analyses data. ### R
 script for all the analyses **Filename:**
 `2025May12_CorrelatedEvoFalseHead.R` **Description:** This file is the R
 script used for all our phylogenetic analyses. All the analyses were done
 section by section following the order reported in our main text. ###
 Access information Other publicly accessible location of the data: N/A.
 Data was derived from the following sources: N/A. ### Contact For any
 questions or further information, please contact: **Name:** Yumnam,
 Tarunkishwor **Email:** (mailto:
 [tarunyumnam18@iisertvm.ac.in](mailto:tarunyumnam18@iisertvm.ac.in))
 **Institution:** Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
 Thiruvananthapuram