A photographically-vouchered global citizen science dataset of sea slugs (Mollusca: Heterobranchia) from the SEASLUG.WORLD platform since 2015

Occurrence
Latest version published on 25 September 2025
Publication date:
25 September 2025
Published by:
No organization
License:
CC-BY 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 38,653 records in English (4 MB) - Update frequency: unknown
Metadata as an EML file download in English (5 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (6 KB)

Description

This dataset comprises occurrence records on sea slugs, collected from divers worldwide via the online platform "Sekai no Umiushi" (https://seaslug.world/) since 2015. Data collection remains ongoing, and the dataset currently includes approximately 40,000 records. It broadly covers groups within the Heterobranchia commonly known as "sea slugs," including not only nudibranchs (Nudibranchia) but also sea hares (Aplysiida), headshield slugs (Cephalaspidea), and sap-sucking slugs (Sacoglossa). The key feature of this dataset is that every record is accompanied by a high-resolution photograph that serves as the basis for identification. All species identifications are consistently performed by the project administrator based on these photographs, ensuring high taxonomic accuracy and consistency throughout the entire dataset. Each record includes a scientific name, vernacular name, geographic coordinates, event date, depth, and a URL to the photograph. This dataset, underpinned by photographic evidence, provides valuable contributions to studies on sea slug biogeography, understanding of diversity patterns, and marine biodiversity monitoring research through citizen science.

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 38,653 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:

Kimoto, N. (2025) A photographically-vouchered global citizen science dataset of sea slugs (Mollusca: Heterobranchia) from the SEASLUG.WORLD platform since 2015. Available at https://doi.org/10.48518/00032. Accessed on yyyy-mm-dd.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

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; Occurrence

Contacts

Nobuhiko Kimoto
  • Metadata Provider
  • Originator
  • Point Of Contact

Additional Metadata

marine, harvested by iOBIS