This new dataset presents occurrence data for Porifera collected in the Ross Sea, mainly in the Terra Nova Bay area, and curated at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, section of Genoa). Specimens were collected in 331 different sampling stations at depths ranging from 17 to 1100 meters in the framework of 17 different Italian Antarctic expeditions funded by the Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA). This dataset focuses on all classes (Calcarea, Demospongiae, Hexactinellida and Homoscleromorpha) of the Phylum Porifera (Kingdom Animalia), and includes a total of 807 specimens belonging to 144 morphospecies (with 95 taxa classified at species level and 49 at genus level), are included in the dataset and representing 12 orders and 30 families.

Antarctic and SubAntarctic Ophiuroidea - MNA (Section of Genoa)

Culture Collection of Fungi From Extreme Environments (CCFEE) Tuscia Associated Section The Mycological Section of the MNA was founded in 2006 at the University of Tuscia, where the group of Systematic Botany and Mycology had established a collection of Antarctic microfungi. Since that time, the collection has been constantly implemented and today includes about 277 fungal strains belonging to 55 species. One of the main aim pursued by the CCFEE is the conservation of rock specimens, colonized by cryptoendolithic fungi and lichens, collected in the framework of PNRA expeditions. Part of the mission includes the study and valorisation of microfungi isolated from various types of Antarctic samples, including soil, mosses and, above all, rocks collected over about 30 years of Antarctic researches. Rocks are preserved at –20 °C and the cultures on slant agar, frozen form at – 80 °C; yeasts are freeze-dried. Samples curated at CCFEE are indicated by the code MNA-CCFEE-progressive in the database.

This dataset illustrates the distributional data of bryozoan species, belonging to the Classes of Stenolaemata and Gymnolaemata, collected in the Ross Sea and the Magellan Strait. The collection is curated at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, section of Genoa) and it includes a total of 311 specimens corresponding to 282 MNA vouchers and belonging to 127 morphospecies. Out of these, 100 were classified to species level and 27 to genus level, representing 3 orders and 34 families. The distributional data of Bryozoa came from different research expeditions, conducted between 1988 and 2014, and include 75 sampling stations, located between 18 and 711 metres of depth.

Distribution records of Amphipoda based on the collection stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) is an occurrence type dataset published by Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa). This dataset provides occurrence information for Amphipoda specimens spanning 25 years of scientific research and dating back to 1995. The distributional information provided here represents the specimens stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) belonging to the order Amphipoda and acquired in the context of 23 different research projects that took place during 16 scientific polar expeditions conducted in Antarctica. It represents an additional resource documenting the distribution of Antarctic Amphipoda in the Southern Ocean, from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea, focusing on the Terra Nova Bay area. This dataset reports a total of 456 distributional occurrences of Amphipoda specimens, collected during 117 different sampling events, and corresponding to 24 families, 27 genera and 34 different species. Out of the total occurrences reported, 217 are identified to the species level, 72 to the genus and 75 to the family level.