Barcoding Megadiversity: An Arthropod Database from Sites in the Neotropical Eastern Pacific Bioregion

Abstract We present the first dataset collection of arthropod diversity from ten terrestrial sites in the Neotropical Eastern Pacific Bioregion, in the territories of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and the Galapagos and Cocos Islands. The twenty–five datasets comprise 1–7 years of sampling. Together, we document a total of 952,087 arthropod specimens and 45,812 BINs. The datasets are distributed in 1 phylum, 7 classes, 39 orders, 556 families, and 2,318 genera. In the first year of sampling, the datasets revealed unprecedented arthropod diversity; notably, at Mashpi in Ecuador (n = 7,848 BINs) and Guanacaste in Costa Rica (n = 7,790 BINs), both exhibited the highest number of unique BINs. Arthropod abundance was greatest at Quetzales (n = 130,193 records) and Baru (n = 111,044 records) in Costa Rica. The five most abundant orders were Diptera (n = 20,901 BINs), Hymenoptera (n = 8,964 BINs), Coleoptera (n = 4,272 BINs), Lepidoptera (n = 3,634 BINs), and Hemiptera (n = 2,166 BINs). The dataset collection provides a robust baseline for future arthropod biodiversity research.