Mediterranean Sea - Western Basin - Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Mediterranean Sea - Western Basin

Statistics

Occurrence records	610,711
Species level	294,333
Species	5,328
Taxa	6,885
Datasets	248
Time range	1837 - 2024

Data quality

Dropped records

Dropped records	0
Not marine	223
No WoRMS match	1,742
No coordinates	0
Zero coordinates	0

Taxonomic issues

Marine unsure	623
No accepted name available	83,607

Missing and invalid fields

Field	Missing	Invalid
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters	331,944	254,233
eventDate	9,579	0
maximumDepthInMeters	453,275	19
minimumDepthInMeters	449,674	17
occurrenceStatus	8,418	0
scientificName	86	0
scientificNameID	2,791	218

Spatial issues

Records on land	56,640
More than 20 km from shore	0
Depth exceeds bathymetric depth	4,723

Top datasets

Dataset	Records
UNESCO eDNA expedition in Gulf of Porto: Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve (France): March 2023 Published 2024-12-08	97,161
Macrophytes occurrence data within French Mediterranen Lagoon since 2006 Published 2025-03-20	96,810
Dataset of French Observation and Monitoring program for Phytoplankton and Hydrology in coastal waters since 1987 Published 2025-03-20	79,801
Plankton community in Régent (680µm) net, Point B, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France Published 2024-09-09	35,020
CHALIST survey catch data: Bentho-demersal assemblages of the Gulf of Lion (North-western Mediterranean) from 1983 to 1992 Published 2025-03-20	30,905
Plankton community in WP2 net (200µm), Point B, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France Published 2025-03-20	25,329
Demersal and mega-benthic species from the MEDITS (Mediterranean International Trawl Survey) project on the Spanish continental shelf between 1994 and 2009 Published 2025-03-20	23,248
IBSS historical data from different cruises Published 2025-03-20	21,010
DELTATRACK - Herring gulls (Larus argentatus, Laridae) and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus, Laridae) breeding at Neeltje Jans (Netherlands) Published 2024-09-03	14,981
Benthic invertebrates abundance data from French REBENT network Published 2025-03-20	14,393

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
Biota incertae sedis	75,180
Larus fuscus Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	28,752
Pseudo-nitzschia H. Peragallo in H. Peragallo & M. Peragallo, 1900 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	14,629
Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) VU Phylum Chordata	12,543
Chordata Haeckel, 1874 Phylum Chordata	9,555
Chaetoceros C.G. Ehrenberg, 1844 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	7,089
Prorocentrum Ehrenberg, 1834 Phylum Myzozoa > Class Dinophyceae	6,190
Animalia	4,916
Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen, 1833) Phylum Chordata > Class Mammalia	4,913
Posidonia oceanica (Linnaeus) Delile, 1813 Phylum Tracheophyta > Class Magnoliopsida	4,894

Newest species

Scientific name	Records	Since
Campanularia hincksii Alder, 1856 Phylum Cnidaria > Class Hydrozoa	4	2023
Clytia hemisphaerica (Linnaeus, 1767) Phylum Cnidaria > Class Hydrozoa	19	2023
Asterina phylactica Emson & Crump, 1979 Phylum Echinodermata > Class Asteroidea	5	2023
Dicentrarchus punctatus (Bloch, 1792) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	8	2023
Oedalechilus labeo (Cuvier, 1829) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	40	2023
Dictyota mediterranea (Schiffner) G.Furnari, 1997 Phylum Ochrophyta > Class Phaeophyceae	7	2023
Discosporangium mesarthrocarpum (Meneghini) Hauck, 1885 Phylum Ochrophyta > Class Phaeophyceae	4	2023
Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	60	2023
Thalassiosira profunda (Hendey) Hasle, 1973 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	24	2023
Cystoseira pustulata (Ercegovic) Neiva & Serrão, 2022 Phylum Ochrophyta > Class Phaeophyceae	4	2023

Data providers

Name	Records
Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee	341,932
Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, IFREMER, Centre de Brest	237,232
UNESCO-IOC	97,245
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization	97,161
Ecole d’Ota	97,161
Office de l’Environnement de la Corse	97,161
Parc naturel régional de Corse	97,161
UNESCO-WHC	97,161
Cépralmar	96,810
Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, IFREMER, Centre de Nantes	79,801