biostudies-literatureUnknown12Santos-Perdomo ISoil arthropod diversity contributes to a high proportion of the total biodiversity on Earth. However, most soil arthropods are still undescribed, hindering our understanding of soil functioning and global biodiversity estimations. Inventorying soil arthropods using conventional taxonomical approaches is particularly difficult and costly due to the great species richness, abundance and local-scale heterogeneity of mesofauna communities and the poor taxonomic background knowledge of most lineages. To alleviate this situation, we have designed and implemented a molecular barcoding framework adapted to soil fauna. This pipeline includes different steps, starting with a morphology-based selection of specimens which are imaged. Then, DNA is extracted non-destructively. Both images and voucher sBiodiversity data journale113301https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10838043biostudies-literatureTowards a Canary Islands barcode database for soil biodiversity: revealing cryptic and unrecorded mite species diversity within insular soils.PMC10838043Arribas PSantos-Perdomo ISuarez DAndujar CMoraza MLfalseTowards a Canary Islands barcode database for soil biodiversity: revealing cryptic and unrecorded mite species diversity within insular soils.Soil arthropod diversity contributes to a high proportion of the total biodiversity on Earth. However, most soil arthropods are still undescribed, hindering our understanding of soil functioning and global biodiversity estimations. Inventorying soil arthropods using conventional taxonomical approaches is particularly difficult and costly due to the great species richness, abundance and local-scale heterogeneity of mesofauna communities and the poor taxonomic background knowledge of most lineages. To alleviate this situation, we have designed and implemented a molecular barcoding framework adapted to soil fauna. This pipeline includes different steps, starting with a morphology-based selection of specimens which are imaged. Then, DNA is extracted non-destructively. Both images and voucher s2024-01-01T00:00:00Z20242026-07-14T18:59:52.632Z2025-04-06T13:49:06.457ZS-EPMC108380433831412310.3897/BDJ.12.e113301