Motivation

Global freshwater fish biodiversity and the responses of fishes to global changes have been explored intensively using taxonomic data, whereas functional aspects remain understudied owing to the lack of knowledge for most species. To fill this gap, we compiled morphological traits related to locomotion and feeding for the world freshwater fish fauna based on pictures and scientific drawings available from the literature.

Main types of variables contained

The database includes 10 morphological traits measured on 8,342 freshwater fish species, covering 48.69% of the world freshwater fish fauna.

Spatial location and grain

Global.

Major taxa and level of measurement

The database considers ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii). Measurements were made at the species level.

Software format

.csv.

Main conclusion

The FISHMORPH database provides the most comprehensive database on fish morphological traits to date. It represents an essential source of information for ecologists and environmental managers seeking to consider morphological patterns of fish faunas throughout the globe, and for those interested in current and future impacts of human activities on the morphological structure of fish assemblages. Given the high threat status of freshwater environments and the biodiversity they host, we believe this database will be of great interest for future studies on freshwater ecology research and conservation.