South Atlantic Ocean - Ocean Biodiversity Information System

South Atlantic Ocean

Statistics

Occurrence records	2,636,505
Species level	2,108,398
Species	20,907
Taxa	28,223
Datasets	547
Time range	1758 - 2025

Data quality

Dropped records

Dropped records	0
Not marine	7,448
No WoRMS match	91,778
No coordinates	0
Zero coordinates	6,293

Taxonomic issues

Marine unsure	11,568
No accepted name available	125,711

Missing and invalid fields

Field	Missing	Invalid
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters	2,664,114	38,836
eventDate	161,134	0
maximumDepthInMeters	1,834,473	10,032
minimumDepthInMeters	1,880,710	5,983
occurrenceStatus	1,789,427	0
scientificName	192,408	0
scientificNameID	206,433	14,227

Spatial issues

Records on land	70,537
More than 20 km from shore	1,668
Depth exceeds bathymetric depth	39,342

Top datasets

Dataset	Records
Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (AfrOBIS) Published 2020-12-02	408,567
The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking (Standardised) Data from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Published 2024-10-23	354,249
Programa de Observadores a Bordo (POBCh) de la Secretaria de Pesca de la Provincia del Chubut, Argentina . Observer On board Program -Fisheries Secretariat of the Province of Chubut-Argentina (OOBPPCh) Published 2021-05-17	169,839
Marine and Coastal Management - Demersal Surveys (AfrOBIS) Published 2020-12-02	109,188
Animal Demography Unit - South African Bird Ringing Unit (SAFRING) Published 2020-12-02	81,523
World Ocean Database 2009 Published 2020-11-17	73,588
UNESCO eDNA expedition in Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves (Brazil): November 2022 Published 2024-12-08	69,802
Marine and Coastal Management - Copepod Surveys Published 2020-12-02	65,803
Angolan Trawl Survey Data Published 2020-12-02	65,162
ReefSYN \| Standardized datasets of Brazilian reef diversity in space and time - Dataset II: Abrolhos Bank monitoring Published 2024-07-03	58,323

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
Mirounga leonina (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Mammalia	205,560
Thyrsites atun (Euphrasen, 1791) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	149,457
Biota incertae sedis	86,388
Pachymetopon blochii (Valenciennes, 1830) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	71,709
Arctocephalus gazella (Peters, 1875) Phylum Chordata > Class Mammalia	55,847
Morus capensis (Lichtenstein, 1823) EN Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	53,686
Eudyptes chrysolophus (Brandt, 1837) VU Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	48,102
Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758 VU Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	31,980
Aptenodytes patagonicus Miller, 1778 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	27,459
Rhabdosargus globiceps (Valenciennes, 1830) VU Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	26,973

Newest species

Scientific name	Records	Since
Protoperidinium excentricum (Paulsen, 1907) Balech, 1974 Phylum Myzozoa > Class Dinophyceae	1	2024
Lithophaga lithophaga (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Mollusca > Class Bivalvia	7	2024
Acrosiphonia arcta (Dillwyn) Gain, 1912 Phylum Chlorophyta > Class Chlorophyceae	7	2024
Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	3	2024
Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	3	2024
Tachyeres pteneres (Forster, 1844) Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	1	2024
Scomber colias Gmelin, 1789 Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	68	2023
Charadrius marginatus Vieillot, 1818 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	38	2023
Phoenicopterus ruber Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	59	2023
Stegastes sanctaehelenae (Sauvage, 1879) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	39	2023

Data providers

Name	Records
CSIR / SADCO / AfrOBIS	688,604
Marine and Coastal Management; Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism	585,921
Marine and Coastal Management Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism	476,733
British Antarctic Survey	412,091
Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen	387,627
National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research	380,182
Université Libre de Bruxelles	374,869
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania	373,285
Alfred-Wegener-Institut (Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung)	372,682
Australian Antarctic Division	365,677