Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean from the DeepCCZ project, 2018

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 55 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Bribiesca-Contreras G, Dahlgren T, Amon D, Cairns S, Drennan R, Durden J, Eléaume M, Hosie A, Kremenetskaia A, McQuaid K, O'Hara T, Rabone M, Simon-Lledó E, Smith C, Watling L, Wiklund H, Glover A (2026). Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean from the DeepCCZ project, 2018. Version 1.0. Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node. Occurrence dataset. https://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource?r=deepccz_benthic&v=1.0

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has not been registered with GBIF

Keywords

Occurrence; Observation

Contacts

Geographic Coverage

Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Temporal Coverage

Sampling Methods

Specimens were selected from across as many taxonomic groups as possible, with duplicates of similar morphotypes avoided; thus, the aim was to increase our understanding of megafaunal diversity. A total of 55 specimens were collected during different dives in three APEIs and three different geoforms (abyssal plain, seamount, and seamount slope), 14 specimens were collected from abyssal seafloor in APEI 1; 13 from abyssal seafloor, two from the seamount slope and six from a seamount in APEI 4; and nine from abyssal seafloor and 11 from a seamount in APEI 7. In situ photographs and/or video frame grabs of each specimen were captured, with parallel lasers for scale at 15 cm spacing. Megafaunal specimens were collected with the manipulator (‘Orion’), suction sampler, or push cores, depending on the characteristics of each specimen in order to best preserve morphological characters. Specimens collected with the manipulator were placed into the biobox receptacle, while those collected with the suction sampler were stored in a suction box. Collection data were recorded at the time of capture (e.g., date and time, ROV latitude/longitude, seabed water depth, ROV waypoint name).

Method step description:

1. After ROV recovery, specimens were transferred and maintained in cold (2–4 °C), filtered seawater until processed. Following Glover et al. (2015), all specimens were photographed, given a preliminary identification and assigned a unique voucher code (e.g., CCZ_020). A tissue sample was taken from each specimen for downstream molecular analyses, and stored in 95% non-denatured ethanol at -20 °C. Specimens were fixed in 10% borax-buffered formalin and transferred to 70% non-denatured ethanol after 48 h, except for sponges, which were kept frozen at -80 °C. After the expedition, specimens and tissue sub-samples were sent to the University of Hawai’i Manoa. Specimens were archived at the Natural History Museum, London (NHMUK), and the Western Australian Museum (WAM), following taxonomic inspection.

Bibliographic Citations

1. Bribiesca-Contreras G, Dahlgren TG, Amon DJ et al. Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean. ZooKeys 2022;1113:1–110. 10.3897/zookeys.1113.82172 https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1113.82172

Additional Metadata