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Phenotypic convergence is a fascinating evolutiona ry p ttern. Many taxa evolve remarkable similarities, often due to similar selec tion pressures, which suggest that there may be a limited number of solutions to a particular ecolo gical challenge. However, some phenotypes are only superficially similar. For example, conver g nt evolution may occur at one phenotypic level such as behavior, but other components (morph ology) of the same phenotype exhibit divergence. In other words, the solutions might be he same, but how taxa approach the problem could be very different. This then suggests that th ere may be multiple phenotypic optima that can tackle similar ecological challenges. In this dissertation, I investigate the evolutiona ry patterns of life habits and shell shapes in scallops and how these phenotypic traits contrib u e to biological diversity. I found many scallop species have converged in life habit, but o nly a few lineages converged in shell shape. Rather, shell shape variation tends to be greater i n species with less specific life habit requirements. However, scallop species with the gli ding life habit have lesser shell shape variation. Interestingly, gliding can be performed by two distinct shell shapes, indicating that only some components of shell shape are important f or the life habit, and others are free to vary. This research indicates that there is likely greate r diversity in form, despite phenotypic similarities in function.

Convergent evolution of life habit and shell shape in scallops (Bivalvia: Pectinidae) with a description of a new genus