a4dfdffb-0d0e-42da-88e9-166ed9778ba7 Laura Perrone University of Palermo PhD Student laura.perrone02@unipa.it Mariantonietta La Marra University of Salento Research fellow mariantonietta.lamarra@unisalento.it 0009-0002-2070-7778 Laura Perrone University of Palermo PhD Student laura.perrone02@unipa.it Mariantonietta La Marra University of Salento Research fellow mariantonietta.lamarra@unisalento.it 0009-0002-2070-7778 Ilaria Rosati National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET) Technologist ilaria.rosati@cnr.it 0000-0003-3422-7230 Custodian Steward Mariantonietta La Marra University of Salento Research fellow mariantonietta.lamarra@unisalento.it 0009-0002-2070-7778 Information Manager 2026-09-02 English Length-weight relationships offer a convenient means of estimating individual body mass from simple measurements of individual length. This dataset provides an extensive collection of length-weight relationships compiled from the literature for over 7,500 animal species, primarily invertebrates and fish. At higher taxonomic levels, the dataset covers 162 animal orders, of which 152 are currently accepted, accounting for more than 15% of all recognised animal orders. The ones corresponding to historical or deprecated orders are indicated in the dataset with an asterisk (*). Animals Environmental Thesaurus Body length Body weight Allometric scaling Traits Thesaurus Free for use, including sharing and adaptation, by all individuals provided that the owners are acknowledged in any use or publication. cc-by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ DOI https://doi.org/10.48372/kxr8-5083 Info and download page on LifeWatch Italy Data Portal https://data.lifewatchitaly.eu/handle/123456789/326424 Global dataset -176.19 175.30 78.95 -68.55 1991-01-01 2024-01-01 http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#keyword https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_d266fb02 http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#keyword https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_abf1e71e http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#keyword http://vocabs.lter-europe.net/EnvThes/20591 http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#keyword https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_1d837d81 Laura Perrone University of Palermo PhD Student laura.perrone02@unipa.it Alberto Basset University of Salento Full professor alberto.basset@unisalento.it 0000-0002-3603-9316 This dataset was compiled from existing data available in international repositories and peer-reviewed literature, selecting records containing length-weight regressions at the taxonomic levels of species, genus, family, and order. Length-weight relationships are expressed using the allometric equation: W=aL^b, where W is body weight, L is body length, a is the allometric coefficient, and b is the allometric exponent. Length-weight relationships originally reported in logarithmic form were transformed into the above equation to ensure consistency across data sources. The dataset was subsequently harmonised using controlled vocabularies. Taxonomic validation was conducted using the ChecklistBank tool available through Catalogue of Life to verify the validity of taxonomic names. Geographical data were reviewed and transformed into decimal degree coordinates where necessary to ensure data interoperability and reusability. Where possible, missing information from the original datasets was reconstructed and added to the final dataset. Database_body_length-weight_relationships.csv Database_body_length-weight_relationships.csv 42122167 MD5:91536c5be9577dc3563406165fe460b0 UTF-8 1 column ; catalogNumber Catalog Number An identifier (preferably unique) for the record within the data set or collection. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/catalogNumber continent Continent The name of the continent in which the location occurs. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/continent country Country The name of the country or major administrative unit in which the location occurs. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/country locality Locality The specific description of the place. This term may contain information modified from the original to correct perceived errors or standardize the description. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/locality decimalLatitude Decimal Latitude The geographic latitude of the geographic center of a Location (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system WGS84). Positive values are north of the Equator, negative values are south of it. Legal values lie between -90 and 90, inclusive. degree real http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/decimalLatitude decimalLongitude Decimal Longitude The geographic longitude of the geographic center of a Location (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system WGS84). Positive values are east of the Prime Meridian, and negative values are west of it. Legal values lie between -180 and 180, inclusive. degree real http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/decimalLongitude eventDate Event Date The date-time or interval during which an Event occurred. For occurrences, this is the date-time when the event was recorded. YYYY-MM-DD http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventDate scientificName Scientific Name The scientificname, with authorship and date information if known, as it originally appeared before of the taxonomic check. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificName acceptedNameUsage Accepted Name Usage The full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known. When forming part of an Identification, this should be the name in lowest level taxonomic rank that can be determined. This term should not contain identification qualifications, which should instead be supplied in the IdentificationQualifier term. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/acceptedNameUsage acceptedNameUsageID Accepted Name Usage ID An identifier for the name usage (documented meaning of the name according to a source) of the currently valid (zoological) or accepted (botanical) taxon. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasCode http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/acceptedNameUsageID scientificNameAuthorship Scientific Name Authorship The authorship information for the scientificName formatted according to the conventions of the applicable nomenclaturalCode. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificNameAuthorship kingdom Kingdom The full scientific name of the kingdom in which the taxon is classified. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/kingdom phylum Phylum The full scientific name of the phylum or division in which the taxon is classified. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/phylum class Class The full scientific name of the class in which the taxon is classified. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/class order Order The full scientific name of the order in which the taxon is classified. An asterisk (*) indicates historical or deprecated taxonomic orders that are no longer considered valid in current classifications but were retained to preserve consistency with the original data source. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/order family Family The full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/family genus Genus The full scientific name of the genus in which the taxon is classified. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/genus taxonRank Taxon Rank The taxonomic rank of the most specific name in the scientificName. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/taxonRank a a Allometric coefficient of the length-weight relationship M=aL^b. It corresponds to the antilogarithm of the intercept of the linearized regression. g/cm real b b Allometric exponent of the length–weight relationship M=aL^b. It corresponds to the slope of the linearized regression. dimensionless real r2 R-squared R-squared represents the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that can be predicted from the independent variables. dimensionless real http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/vrebiomass/c_4c950149 bodyWeight Body Weight Any measurable characteristic related to the body weight of an organism. Ash free dry weight The weight of organic material obtained as difference between the dry weight and the ash weight https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_4eb7719f Dry weight The weight of an organism after removal of body fluids drying at 50-70 °C (typically at 60 °C) in a drying oven for 24 hours or until constant weight is reached. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_4d66d52a Wet weight The weight of a whole fresh organism. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_54f8447a http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_abf1e71e bodySize Body Size Morphological measurable characteristic related to the size of the body or part of the body of an organism. Body size is comparable across taxa and variable through time and space. Body size can vary within taxonomic groups, with gender and life stage. Body length The total distance from point to point along the longest axis of the body of an organism. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_d266fb02 Shell length The maximum linear distance of the shell of an organism; measured along its longest axis. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_b8c58e21 Head length The linear distance corresponding to the length of the head. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_04614a00 First pereonite length The linear distance between the anterior and posterior margins of the first pereonite (first thoracic segment); measured along the longitudinal body axis. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_78b35102 Cephalothorax length The linear measurement of the cephalothorax; the body region formed by the fusion of the head and thorax. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_4974e981 Pleotelson length The linear distance from the anterior boundary of the pleotelson to its posterior distal tip. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_5e4054e0 Body width The total distance from side to side of the body of an organism; measured perpendicular to its longest axis at the widest point. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_cf1364a4 6th chaetiger width The linear distance corresponding to the width of the sixth chaetiger; measured perpendicular to the longitudinal body axis. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8bde1d4c 10th chaetiger width The linear distance corresponding to the width of the tenth chaetiger; measured perpendicular to the longitudinal body axis. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_d6032727 Mandible length The linear distance between the proximal articulation point and the distal tip of the mandible. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8609d35f Chaetigers width The width measurement of the portion of the body that contains the chaetigerous segments. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_699a828b Standard length Length of a fish measured from the tip of the snout to the posterior end of the last vertebra or to the posterior end of the midlateral portion of the hypural plate. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_45e9390e Fork length Length of a fish from the tip of the snout to the end of the middle caudal fin rays. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_2a7e629c Disk width The greatest distance between the lateral tips of the pectoral fins in Rajiformes. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_cf3feb3e Thorax width The linear distance corresponding to the width of the thorax; typically measured across its widest point in dorsal view. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8d06084c Chela width The linear distance corresponding to the width of the chela; typically measured across its widest point. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_057e13f8 Carapace width The maximum linear distance measured across the carapace at its widest point; perpendicular to its longest axis. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_099b3aa0 Carapace length The linear distance measured from the anterior to the posterior edge of the carapace along its longest axis. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8f754add Capitulum length The linear distance corresponding to the length of the capitulum. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_38384be2 Arm length The maximum linear distance of an arm; measured from its proximal to its distal end along its longitudinal axis. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8d742b69 Central disk diameter The maximum linear distance measured across the central body disk through its centre; excluding the arms. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_11f1dc3d Mantle length The linear distance corresponding to the length of the mantle. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8d83eb0c Shell width The maximum linear distance of the shell of an organism; measured perpendicular to its longest axis at the widest point. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_48eee3bc Head width The linear distance corresponding to the width of the head. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_baf8bf4c Abdominal length For arthropods (when the abdomen is clearly distinguishable); distance measured in dorsal view from its most anterior part to its posterior ending. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_1adf5091 http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_efccde31 minimumBodyLength Minimum Body Length The minimum value in a range of body length values. centimeter real http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_35a45f59 maximumBodyLength Maximum Body Length The maximum value in a range of body length values. centimeter real http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_c64288a6 organismQuantity Organism Quantity A number or enumeration value for the quantity of organisms. number real http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/organismQuantity habitat Habitat A category or description of the habitat in which the event occurred. Freshwater Habitat characterised by water with low salinity; such as rivers ponds and lakes. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_977c20db Marine Saltwater environment. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_7cc582b6 Transitional water Transitional coastal areas where freshwater from the land and saltwater from the sea mix - http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/habitat lifeStage Life Stage An age class or life stage of a organism. Adult An organism that is fully grown or sexually mature. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_ac9342d2 Juvenile An organism that is not fully grown or sexually mature. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8cb0c56c Larval stage A distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. https://kos.lifewatch.eu/thesauri/traits/c_8c0c4803 http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#ofCharacteristic http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/lifeStage associatedReferences Associated References A list (concatenated and separated) of identifiers (publication, bibliographic reference, global unique identifier, URI) of literature associated with the occurrence. Any Text http://ecoinformatics.org/oboe/oboe.1.2/oboe-core.owl#hasContext http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/associatedReferences 98468