Astroblepus Catfish Morphometric and Genetic Data from Esmeraldas River Basin

395 specimens of Andean catfish from the genus Astroblepus were analyzed using DNA barcoding and geometric morphometrics. The data, created by Kevin P. Chugá-Puetate and last updated in 2026, reveals seven evolutionary lineages, exceeding previously known diversity in the Esmeraldas River basin of Ecuador. This integrative taxonomy approach identified cryptic species and suggested possible synonymies.

Use Cases

• Species delimitation based on COI gene barcoding data mentioned in the description
• Morphological cluster analysis based on geometric morphometric data
• Assessing the role of altitudinal distribution and sub-basin isolation in driving divergence
• Validating taxonomic status and identifying synonymies among described Astroblepus species

Strengths

• Integrates data from 386 specimens for morphometrics and 33 for genetics
• Combines new sequences with publicly available data for broader context
• Applies an integrative taxonomy approach using molecular, geometric morphometric, and traditional morphological characters

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data is limited to a single river basin in Ecuador, which may affect generalizability

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Specimens were collected and analyzed as part of an integrative taxonomy study combining DNA barcoding, geometric morphometrics, and traditional morphology.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-22 17:44:56; freshness should be verified

Geography

Esmeraldas River basin, Ecuador