Filtered GBIF occurrence data for Mediterranean macrobenthic invertebrates used for rarity analysis

GBIF occurrence records of soft-sediment macrobenthic invertebrates (Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, Mollusca) downloaded from GBIF (download DOI:10.15468/dl.fvz9bp, key: 0049467-260519110011954) and filtered for Mediterranean-scale Index of Relative Rarity (IRR) analysis. Filters applied: (1) spatial cleaning using CoordinateCleaner (capitals, centroids, equal coordinates, GBIF headquarters, biodiversity institutions, zero coordinates); (2) restriction to records post-1990; (3) strict Mediterranean bounding box (lon: -5.5 to 36°E, lat: 30 to 46°N) excluding Atlantic and Black Sea polygons; (4) removal of terrestrial points using Natural Earth land polygons; (5) taxonomic harmonization via GBIF backbone matching. Final dataset: 134,993 occurrences, 1,077 species, 224 grid cells (1°x1°). File citation_data_derived.csv contains the contributing GBIF dataset keys and record counts for derived dataset registration.