Dlj. Quicke et R. Belshaw, Incongruence between morphological data sets: An example from the evolution of endoparasitism among parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera : Braconidae), SYST BIOL, 48(3), 1999, pp. 436-454
Phylogenetic analyses of molecular and morphological data sets for a group
of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) give strikingly different resu
lts. The molecular data indicate that the major life history transition fro
m ectoparasitism to endoparasitism has occurred independently several times
within the family while the morphological data indicate a single origin. S
imilar incongruent topologies are obtained if the morphological data are pa
rtitioned by either of two methods: distinguishing (I) characters of the la
rval stage and female reproductive system, or (2) characters selected indiv
idually by the authors prior to the analysis as likely to be mechanisticall
y associated with endo/ectoparasitism. This result is supported by signific
ant differences in tests of incongruence, and we propose that it is caused
by convergence among morphological characters resulting from a shared life
history strategy.