Historical benthos data from the Romanian Black Sea Coast between 1954 and 1968

The dataset comprises data on the substrate type, temperature, salinity and benthos from 567 samples colected in Romanian Black Sea Shelf, in the period 16.04.1954 - 14.02.1968. The sediment samples were taken with a Van-Veen grab, the sampling size - 0.1 m2. The sediment was preserved in buffered formalin 4% , then sieved through a 2 mm, 0.25 mm and 0.10 mm mesh sieve and subsequently stored in 70% ethanol. The database comprises taxonomic and quantitative data (individuals count, density and biomass per square meter) for 97 macrobenthic species and 5 supraspecific groups.