Forewing outline dataset for extant and extinct Lepidoptera

Dataset READMETitleRight forewing outline dataset for extant and extinct Lepidoptera
AuthorsHumberto G. Ferrón
Ramon y Cajal research fellow
Macroevolution and Functional Morphology Research Group (www.macrofun.es)
Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology
Calle Catedrático José Beltrán Martínez, nº 2 46980 Paterna - Valencia - Spain
Phone: [phone]
Universitat de València, Spain

Dataset descriptionThis dataset contains right forewing outline data for 359 Lepidoptera species, including 182 extant species and 177 extinct species. The dataset was assembled to provide a comparative morphological resource spanning both living and fossil representatives of Lepidoptera.

The extant taxa were compiled from openly licensed images obtained through GBIF under Creative Commons licences. The extinct taxa were compiled from published palaeontological literature. For fossil taxa, the dataset includes the corresponding bibliographic references and age information in the accompanying PDF file.

For all taxa, right forewing outlines were digitised using 150 landmarks per specimen.

Contents of the datasetThe dataset is organised into two main folders:

1. `Living taxa/`This folder contains data for 182 extant species:
- `0. Living taxa dig land.TPS` — TPS file containing the digitised right forewing outlines, with 150 landmarks per specimen.
- `0. Names.CSV` — list of taxon names / specimen names corresponding to the TPS entries.
- Original source images for extant taxa, obtained from GBIF under Creative Commons licences.

2. `Extinct taxa/`This folder contains data for 177 extinct species:
- `0. Extinct taxa outline landmarks.TPS` — TPS file containing the digitised right forewing outlines, with 150 landmarks per specimen.
- `0. Names.CSV` — list of taxon names corresponding to the TPS entries.
- `References.pdf` — bibliographic references for the fossil taxa, including their geological age information.

File formats- TPS: landmark coordinate files for geometric morphometric analyses.
- CSV: text tables with taxon names corresponding to TPS entries.
- PNG/JPEG: original images used as the basis for digitisation (extant taxa).
- PDF: bibliographic references and fossil age information.

Methods summaryRight forewing outlines were digitised from images of extant and extinct Lepidoptera. Each outline was represented using **150 landmarks**, allowing direct comparison across taxa. Extant images were sourced from GBIF under Creative Commons licensing. Fossil data were obtained from published literature, and associated references and age information are provided in the PDF file included in the dataset.

Reuse potentialThis dataset can be reused for:
- geometric morphometric analyses of Lepidoptera wing shape;
- studies of morphological disparity and macroevolution;
- comparisons between extant and extinct wing morphologies;
- phylogenetic and palaeobiological analyses of forewing form.

Suggested citationFerrón, H. G. (2026). Forewing outline dataset for extant and extinct Lepidoptera [Data set]. figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31828372

Notes- All outlines correspond to the right forewing.
- Extant taxa are based on GBIF images with Creative Commons licences.
- Extinct taxa are based on published literature.
- The dataset includes original GBIF images, fossil references and age information in `References.pdf`, 150-landmark forewing outlines, and taxon name lists.