Analyses of morphological disparity have been used to characterize and investigate the evolution of variation in the anatomy, function and ecology of organisms since the 1980s. While a diversity of methods have been employed, it is unclear whether they provide equivalent insights. Here, we review the most commonly used approaches for characterizing and analysing morphological disparity, all of which have associated limitations that, if ignored, can lead to misinterpretation. We propose best practice guidelines for disparity analyses, while noting that there can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. The available tools should always be used in the context of a specific biological question that will determine data and method selection at every stage of the analysis.

自 20 世纪 80 年代以来，形态差异分析已被用来表征和研究生物体解剖学、功能和生态学变异的演变。虽然采用了多种方法，但尚不清楚它们是否提供了相同的见解。在这里，我们回顾了表征和分析形态差异的最常用方法，所有这些方法都有相关的局限性，如果忽视，可能会导致误解。我们提出了差异分析的最佳实践指南，同时指出不可能有“一刀切”的方法。可用的工具应始终在特定的生物学问题的背景下使用，该问题将决定分析每个阶段的数据和方法选择。