A new taxonomist-curated reference library of DNA barcodes for Neotropical electric fishes (Teleostei: Gymnotiformes)

DNA barcoding is a useful tool for identifying species; however,
successful barcode-based identification requires a reference library of
barcode sequences from accurately identified specimens. Here we present a
reference library of co1 barcode sequences for the Neotropical
electric knifefish order Gymnotiformes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi), a model
taxon for studies of tropical diversification and biogeography, genomics,
behaviour, and neurobiology. Our library contains barcodes for 167 of the
ca. 270 valid species of gymnotiforms derived from geo-referenced museum
voucher specimens, and includes sequences from 26 type specimens and 21
specimens from type localities, most of which we collected. To assess the
state of gymnotiform barcodes in two main public barcode repositories,
GenBank and BOLD, we compared the barcodes in these databases to our
reference library. Our analysis shows that a considerable proportion of
gymnotiform barcodes in GenBank and BOLD are mis- or unidentified. We
encourage taxonomists to develop and publish barcode reference libraries
composed of carefully curated barcode sequences.