A dataset of 1278 DNA barcodes, representing 218 marine fish species, was used to test
the utility of DNA barcodes to assign species from query sequences. We tested query sequences against 1) a reference
library of ranked DNA barcodes from the neighbouring North East Atlantic, and 2) the public databases BOLD and GenBank.
In the first case, a reference library comprising DNA barcodes with reliability grades for 146 fish species was used as
diagnostic dataset to screen 486 query DNA sequences from fish specimens collected in the central basin of the
Mediterranean Sea. Of all query sequences suitable for comparisons 98% were unambiguously confirmed through complete
match with reference DNA barcodes. In the second case, it was possible to assign species to 83% (BOLD-IDS) and 72%
(GenBank) of the sequences from the Mediterranean. Relatively high intraspecific genetic distances were found in 7 species
(2.2%–18.74%), most of them of high commercial relevance, suggesting possible cryptic species.