Select epibenthic megafauna of Southwest New Brunswick, Bay of Fundy, Canada, identified from in situ high-resolution digital still images

A collection of 5081 near-seafloor digital still images were captured using a newly-developed drift-camera system’s downward-facing camera during benthic imagery surveys in southwest New Brunswick across 15 survey days in fall 2022 to 2024. Of these, 1699 images (spaced ~20 m apart) were analyzed using the image annotation software BIIGLE to record presence of 68 target taxa. These 68 taxa are identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and were selected based on confidence of identification from a strictly visual approach, building on experience from analyzing prior surveys employing a similar methodology. This catalogue contains representative images, brief descriptions of each taxa, and notes on the benthic habitat types in which they were observed (64 of the target 68 taxa were encountered in this study). These images and annotations contribute to the characterization of benthic habitats in southwest New Brunswick, and also support development of a regional conservation network plan. For each of the 64 taxa observed, we report their scientific name, World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) identification number, link to extended examples on iNaturalist, example images from the current study, habitat description (substrate associations), and potential lower classification where applicable.