The polychaete fauna of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone from boxcore samples during SONNE cruise SO239

The dataset contains polychaete abundance data collected from boxcores samples (BC; 0.25 m2) collected in the eastern Clarion Clipperton fracture Zone (northeast Pacific), an area currently being explored for polymetallic nodules. Macrobenthic samples were collected onboard RV Sonne during expedition SO239 in 2015. Four exploration contract areas (BGR, IOM, GSR and Ifremer) and one “Area of Particular Environmental Interest” (APEI#3) were sampled. Between 3 and 8 quantitative box cores were collected in each area. Boxcore samples were sliced in three layers (0-3, 3-5 and 5-10 cm depth) and sieved on a 300 µm mesh. Polychaetes have been counted, sequenced and identified. Identifications were realised based on morphology and DNA (COI, 16S and 18S genes) leading to morphotype in most cases (species-level). DNA sequences are available in Genbank or BOLD databases with their respective codes in this dataset.