Radiating pain: venom has contributed to the diversification of the largest radiations of vertebrate and invertebrate animals

Abstract Background Understanding drivers of animal biodiversity has been a longstanding aim in evolutionary biology. Insects and fishes represent the largest lineages invertebrates vertebrates respectively, consequently many ideas have proposed to explain this diversity. Natural enemy interactions are often important diversification dynamics, key traits that mediate such may therefore an role explaining organismal Venom is one trait which intricately bound antagonistic coevolution recently shown be associated with increased rates tetrapods. Despite ~ 10% fish families 16% insect containing venomous species, venom play these two superradiations remains unknown. Results In paper we take broad family-level phylogenetic perspective show variation main cause variations species richness both insects fishes, twice as high non-venomous families. Furthermore, estimate was present 14% history respectively. Conclusions Consequently, provide evidence played generating remarkable diversity vertebrate invertebrate radiations.