We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed studies in the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection (Science Citation Index Expanded, 1900-present) on 3rd November 2020, using the search “TS = (metabarcoding) NOT TS = (*micro* OR *bacteria* OR *myco* OR *archaea* OR fungi OR plant OR eDNA OR environmental DNA)”. These search parameters were selected in order to obtain  a comprehensive set of wocDNA metabarcoding studies limited to Metazoa.