Widespread sympatry in a species-rich clade of marine fishes (Carangoidei)
Carangoidei is an ecologically important clade of marine fishes that utilize coral reef and pelagic environments. We used sequence capture of 1314 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from 154 taxa to generate a time-calibrated phylogeny of Carangoidei and its parent clade, Carangiformes. With a dataset averaging 958 UCE loci and representing 80% of the known species diversity within Carangoidei, we provide phylogenomic resolution for the relationships within this clade. Our tests of phylogenetic covariance suggest that the evolution of certain morphological and ecological traits has been conserved during carangoid lineage diversification. The prevalence of sympatry coincides with evidence of morphological and environmental niche-partitioning in body size and depth in the water column between sister taxa.