Functional decoupling of oral and pharyngeal jaws is widely considered to have expanded the ecological repertoire of cichlid fishes. But, the degree to which the evolution of these jaw systems is decoupled and whether decoupling has impacted trophic diversification remains unknown. Focusing on the large Neotropical radiation of cichlids, we ask whether oral and pharyngeal jaw evolution is correlated and how their evolutionary rates respond to feeding ecology. In support of decoupling, we find relaxed evolutionary integration between the two jaw systems, resulting in novel trait combinations that potentially facilitate feeding mode diversification. These outcomes are made possible by escaping the mechanical trade‐off between force transmission and mobility, which characterizes a single jaw system that functions in isolation. In spite of the structural independence of the two jaw systems, results using a Bayesian, state‐dependent, relaxed‐clock model of multivariate Brownian motion indicate strongly aligned evolutionary responses to feeding ecology. So, although decoupling of prey capture and processing functions released constraints on jaw evolution and promoted trophic diversity in cichlids, the natural diversity of consumed prey has also induced a moderate degree of evolutionary integration between the jaw systems, reminiscent of the original mechanical trade‐off between force and mobility.

中文翻译：

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分离的颚促进慈鲷鱼的营养多样性

口腔和咽颚的功能解耦被广泛认为扩展了慈鲷鱼的生态库。但是，这些颚系统的进化脱钩的程度以及脱钩是否影响了营养多样化仍然未知。关注慈鲷的大型新热带辐射，我们询问口腔和咽颚进化是否相关以及它们的进化速率如何响应摄食生态。为了支持脱钩，我们发现两个颌骨系统之间的进化整合较为轻松，从而产生了新的性状组合，可能有助于喂养模式的多样化。这些结果是通过逃避力传递和移动性之间的机械权衡而实现的，这是一个独立运作的单颚系统的特征。尽管两个颚系统的结构独立，但使用贝叶斯、状态相关、多元布朗运动的松弛时钟模型的结果表明，对摄食生态的进化反应强烈一致。因此，虽然猎物捕获和处理功能的解耦释放了对下颚进化的限制并促进了慈鲷的营养多样性，但被消耗的猎物的自然多样性也诱导了下颚系统之间适度程度的进化整合，让人联想到最初的机械权衡在力量和机动性之间。