Distributional records of Antarctic Porifera from samples stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA), with an update of the checklist for the Terra Nova Bay area (Ross Sea).

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 1,100 meters in the framework of 17 different Italian Antarctic expeditions funded by the Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA). A total of 807 specimens, belonging to 144 morphospecies (i.e., 95 taxa identified at species level and 49 classified at least at the genus level) is included in the dataset. Nearly half (45%) of the species reported here correspond to species already known for Terra Nova Bay. Out of the remaining 55% previously unknown records, under a third (~29%) were classified at the species level, while over a quarter (~26%) were ascribed to the genus level only and these would require further study. All vouchers are permanently curated at the MNA and are available for study to the scientific community. A 3D model of an uncommon species from the Ross Sea, i.e. Tethyopsis brondstedi (Burton, 1929), is also presented and will be made available for outreach purposes.