Updated dataset for “Jellyfish in Hong Kong: a citizen science dataset”

Abstract This work is an update and extension of the previously published article “Jellyfish in Hong Kong: a citizen science dataset”, by Terenzini et al. (2024). This Data Update consists of 516 jellyfish observations made by citizen scientists in Hong Kong during 2024 and 2025, who submitted photographs and videos to the Hong Kong Jellyfish Project website, iNaturalist project, and through social media. While citizen science is not new to China or, more specifically, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Jellyfish Project is the first time citizen science has been used to investigate jellyfish in the region, filling the knowledge gap of a previously under-studied taxa in a biodiversity-rich region of the South China Sea. This Data Update has new species occurrence records for Hong Kong, including rarely seen species, taxonomically uncertain species, and updates previous records because of recent taxonomic revisions. This Data Update makes jellyfish data available for research into the roles and influences jellyfish have on Hong Kong’s highly impacted marine ecosystems. The potential usage of the Data Update extends to improving comprehensive marine management and tourism policies. This dataset is publicly available and discoverable in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility database.