Benguela Upwelling System - Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Benguela Upwelling System

Statistics

Occurrence records	651,713
Species level	588,917
Species	3,744
Taxa	5,318
Datasets	176
Time range	1758 - 2025

Data quality

Dropped records

Dropped records	0
Not marine	1,039
No WoRMS match	4,336
No coordinates	0
Zero coordinates	0

Taxonomic issues

Marine unsure	518
No accepted name available	2,357

Missing and invalid fields

Field	Missing	Invalid
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters	638,134	182
eventDate	20,027	0
maximumDepthInMeters	532,684	3,501
minimumDepthInMeters	521,791	3
occurrenceStatus	619,014	0
scientificName	651	0
scientificNameID	9,087	642

Spatial issues

Records on land	130,299
More than 20 km from shore	0
Depth exceeds bathymetric depth	2,950

Top datasets

Dataset	Records
Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (AfrOBIS) Published 2020-12-02	356,933
Animal Demography Unit - South African Bird Ringing Unit (SAFRING) Published 2020-12-02	82,037
Marine and Coastal Management - Demersal Surveys (AfrOBIS) Published 2020-12-02	74,515
Marine and Coastal Management - Copepod Surveys Published 2020-12-02	43,189
De Beers Marine Namibia Benthic Monitoring Programme Published 2020-12-02	14,505
Namdeb Diamond Corporation Limited Marine Monitoring Programme Published 2020-12-02	12,488
Kelp Blue marine ecology - Luderitz, Namibia (2021-09 to 2024-09) Published 2024-09-30	9,438
Happywhale - Humpback whale in South Atlantic Ocean Published 2025-03-17	6,604
Animal Demography Unit - The Birds in Reserves Project (BIRP) Published 2020-12-02	4,776
PANGAEA - Data from the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Published 2025-03-20	4,256

Distribution

Disclaimer: EEZ boundaries based on Marine Regions (no endorsement).

Records

Composition

detailed (class) simple

Top taxa

Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa

Scientific name	Records
Thyrsites atun (Euphrasen, 1791) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	199,474
Pachymetopon blochii (Valenciennes, 1830) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	74,293
Morus capensis (Lichtenstein, 1823) EN Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	54,688
Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	21,952
Rhabdosargus globiceps (Valenciennes, 1830) VU Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	20,747
Sterna bergii Lichtenstein, 1823 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	14,679
Spondyliosoma emarginatum (Valenciennes, 1830) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	11,231
Calanoides carinatus (Krøyer, 1849) Phylum Arthropoda > Class Copepoda	7,837
Calanus agulhensis De Decker, Kaczmaruk & Marska, 1991 Phylum Arthropoda > Class Copepoda	7,645
Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) Phylum Chordata > Class Mammalia	6,644

Newest species

Scientific name	Records	Since
Dinophysis fortii Pavillard, 1924 Phylum Myzozoa > Class Dinophyceae	1	2024
Protoperidinium depressum (Bailey, 1854) Balech, 1974 Phylum Myzozoa > Class Dinophyceae	4	2024
Protoperidinium pentagonum (Gran, 1902) Balech, 1974 Phylum Myzozoa > Class Dinophyceae	2	2024
Gracilaria gracilis (Stackhouse) Steentoft, L.M.Irvine & Farnham, 1995 Phylum Rhodophyta > Class Florideophyceae	9	2024
Chaetoceros teres Cleve, 1896 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	5	2024
Lauderia annulata Cleve, 1873 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	7	2024
Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	3	2024
Halichondria (Halichondria) panicea (Pallas, 1766) Phylum Porifera > Class Demospongiae	4	2024
Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	3	2024
Lingulaulax polyedra (F.Stein) M.J.Head, K.N.Mertens & R.A.Fensome 2024 Phylum Myzozoa > Class Dinophyceae	2	2024

Data providers

Name	Records
CSIR / SADCO / AfrOBIS	568,869
Marine and Coastal Management; Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism	476,887
Marine and Coastal Management Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism	402,372
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO	89,238
University of Cape Town; Department of Zoology	87,507
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Stellenbosch	34,075
Pisces Environmental Services (Pty) Ltd	28,791
De Beers Namibia Holdings	14,505
Marine Environmental Consultant	14,505
Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee	12,797