Right Forewing Landmark Data for 359 Extant and Fossil Lepidoptera Species

359 Lepidoptera species, comprising 182 extant and 177 extinct taxa, are represented by digitized right forewing outlines. The dataset provides 150 landmarks per specimen, compiled from GBIF images for living species and paleontological literature for fossils. It serves as a comparative morphological resource for evolutionary and taxonomic studies.

Use Cases

• Comparative shape analysis of insect wings based on 150 landmark points per specimen.
• Studying morphological evolution across time by comparing extant and fossil specimens.
• Taxonomic classification and identification using forewing outline data.
• Reconstructing phylogenetic relationships within Lepidoptera based on morphological traits.

Strengths

• Includes a balanced sample of 182 extant and 177 extinct species, enabling direct fossil-modern comparisons.
• Provides high-resolution morphological data with 150 landmarks digitized per forewing outline.
• Sources are clearly documented: extant data from GBIF under Creative Commons licenses, fossil data with bibliographic references.

Limitations

• Column names and a precise row count for the landmark data are not explicitly provided in the available metadata.
• The dataset is limited to right forewings only, excluding other morphological structures.
• The temporal coverage for fossil specimens is not specified in the provided input, only referenced as being in an accompanying PDF.

Provenance

Source

Extant data from GBIF; extinct data from published paleontological literature.

Collection Method

Outlines were digitized from source images and literature figures to create landmark data.

Time Range

Covers both extant species and extinct fossil species, but specific age range is not detailed in the input.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-21.

Geography

Global, as it includes species compiled from a global biodiversity database (GBIF) and fossil literature.