Polar - tropical biodiversity comparisons are becoming essential in order to investigate fully the origin and maintenance of the larger scale patterns of life on Earth. Although many polar data are now readily to hand it is often more difficult to locate accurate and up to date tropical datasets to use in direct comparisons. This dataset represents an attempt to rectify this imbalance using two of the largest clades in shallow tropical seas at the present day. The data were obtained from primary published literature which is fully referenced below and in the companion research paper to this dataset. They relate to nine regional localities which stretch across the tropical realm from the Indo-West Pacific to the Americas. For each locality there is a full species list, with each species being assigned to both a genus and family. The latest taxonomic references have been used to ensure that all these lists are based on current biological nomenclature. Funding: Partly from NERC grant NE/I005803/1 Partly from BAS core funds

Biological tissue samples from octopus species collected from the Southern Ocean, James Clark Ross cruise no. JR147/145. A large collection of tissue samples from deep sea and Antarctic target groups had already been collected in previous cruises. The specific objective of this cruise was to target three species of octopus, Pareledone charcoti (peak abundance 100m depth), Pareledone turqueti (peak abundance 100-200m) and Adelieledone polymorpha (peak abundance 250-350m), for the micro-evolution (i.e. population genetics) component of the project. Most of the octopuses were captured with an otter trawl, due to its relatively large sampling area and the fact that it can be trawled quickly (4 knots) which prevents octopuses from swimming out of it.

DNA sequencing data from octopus samples collected in the Southern Ocean. A small tissue sample was taken from the mantle of each octopus and placed immediately in 70 - 80 % ethanol for preservation, in preparation for DNA extraction.

This dataset comprises video and imagery captured around Rothera Point, Adelaide Island on the West Antarctic Peninsula between November 2023 and February 2024. The data was captured as part of a biodiversity survey on an area to the North of Rothera Research Station. Operations were conducted off small boats and allowed data to be collected in shallow waters between 10 m and 60 m water depth. The dataset includes: seabed imagery captured using a down-facing drop camera, video footage from a Boxfish Luna remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), timelapse imagery from a camera installed on the Rothera Research station watch tower and video and imagery of a sediment profiler experiment of the seabed. Data were collected by personnel at BAS, funded by the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Project (AIMP) Runway Project.