Isopoda Latreille, 1816 is an order that consists of a vast number of taxa, living and thriving in land, sea, fresh- and groundwater. Isopods in the Southern Ocean are highly speciose and well-represented from the shelf to deep-sea zones. Biogeographical data regarding Ross Sea isopods are presented here, examining the National Antarctic Museum (MNA) Genoa section samples belonging to 15 Antarctic Expeditions. A total of 279 MNA samples were identified, resulting in 53 accepted species distributed in 24 families and 48 genera. From this identification, 15 species are considered new records for the Ross Sea area. GBIF and OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System) (https://obis.org) databases, and bibliographic research were used as validation to the eventually new records for the Ross Sea area. This dataset describes the abundance and distribution of Isopoda of the 15 antarctic campaigns: PNRA Expedition Xth (1994/95), XIth (1995/96), XIIIth (1997/98), XIVth (1998/99), XVIIth (2001/02), XIXth (2003/04), XXVth (2009/10), XXVIIth (2011/12), XXVIIIth (2012/13), XXIXth (2013/14), XXXIIth (2016/17), XXXIVth (2018/19), and NSF (National Science Foundation) "Icefish04", and BAS (British Antarctic Survey) Expedition JR15005 "SO-AntEco" and JR18003 "ICEBERGS2". at Southern Ocean between 23 January 1995 and 05 December 2018.

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.

Information regarding the molluscs in this dataset is based on the Rauschert dredge samples collected during the Latitudinal Gradient Program (LGP) on board the R/V “Italica” in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) in the austral summer 2004, in the framework of the 19th PNRA Antarctic expedition. The study area was the continental shelf along the latitudinal transect comprised between Cape Adare (~71°S) and Terra Nova Bay (~75°S). On the whole,eighteen stations, comprised between 84 and 515m of depth, were sampled The present dataset focus on six molluscs classes (Mollusca: Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Monoplacophora, Aplacophora, Polyplacophora and Scaphopoda). In total 8,359 specimens have been collected belonging to 161 species and corresponding to 505 species distributional records. Of these, in order of abundance, 5,965 specimens were Gastropoda (accounting for 113 species), 1,323 were Bivalvia (accounting for 36 species), 949 were Aplacophora (accounting for 7 species), 74 specimens were Scaphopoda (3 species), 38 were Monoplacophora (1 species) and, finally, 10 specimens were Polyplacophora (1 species). This data set represent the first large-scale survey of benthic micromolluscs for the area and provides important information about the distribution of several species which have been seldom or never recorded before in the Ross Sea.

Distribution records of sea cucumbers (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) based on the collection stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, section of Genoa) is an occurrence type dataset published by Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA). The dataset comprises a total of 328 distributional records, each one corresponding to a voucher specimen stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) – Genoa section. These records originate from the sampling activities performed in the context of eleven different research projects that took place during 11 scientific polar expeditions conducted in the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula. In total, 89 different sampling events were conducted using a variety of sampling instruments and methodologies.

This dataset gathers distributional data on planktonic copepods (Crustacea, Copepoda) collected in the framework of the III, V and X Expeditions of the Italian National Antarctic Program (PNRA) held in the western Ross Sea from 1987 to 1995. Sampling was conducted with BIONESS and WP2 net in 94 different sampling stations, mainly distributed in the Terra Nova Bay area, at the depth of 0-1000 meters. In terms of spatial coverage, this dataset covers 6027 distributional records that are also reported in terms of original abundance data (ind/m3) to allow a possible modelization of species distributions thanks to the availability of environmental variables that were collected together with the biological samples. The total of distributional records here reported has two different origins: 5306 are represented by bibliographic records obtained by digitizing the original data reports, whereas 721 correspond to physical museum vouchers, now curated by the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa). This group of museum samples comprises 8225 individual specimens, that were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. They belong to 4 orders, 25 families, 52 genera and 82 species, out of which 17 could be only determined at the genus level

The Italian Collection of Antarctic Bacteria (CIBAN) was established in 1989 at the Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences of the University of Messina. CIBAN is one of the few collections in the world dedicated to Antarctic bacteria and, since its inception, it has grown to include 515 cold-adapted strains belonging to 69 Genera. Bacteria were extracted from seawater, sediment, and benthic organisms, mainly from the Terra Nova Bay marine area in East Antarctica. CIBAN also hosts bacterial isolates from the continent. Quality control: Strains are routinely streaked on agar plates every six months to control purity and viability. Method steps: All cultures are maintained in duplicate on agar slants at 4 °C. Antarctic strains are also preserved by freezing cell suspensions at – 80 °C in liquid broth to which 20% glycerol is added.

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.