The evolution of defensive traits is a central topic in evolutionary biology, yet quantitative data linking variation in defensive morphology to ecological and environmental factors remain limited. ArmourTraits is a comprehensive dataset that quantifies variation in body armour across 131 species from two distantly related squamate lineages, Cordyliformes and Anguimorpha, which convergently evolved armour in the form of osteoderms. The dataset integrates morphological measurements of osteoderm expression and hindlimb skeletal traits derived from micro-computed tomography scans, species-level ecological, life-history, and environmental data, as well as estimated predation risk and a time-calibrated phylogeny. By providing standardised, quantitative metrics of defensive morphology alongside locomotor traits and associated ecological variables, ArmourTraits enables phylogenetic comparative analyses of ecological correlates, functional trade-offs, convergent evolution, and the diversification of defensive traits across squamates.
Broeckhoven et al. (Fri,) studied this question.