Brazilian bryophytes: a national-scale comprehensive dataset of species richness and geographic distribution

Bryophytes (Anthocerotophyta, Marchantiophyta, and Bryophyta) remain under-sampled in large-scale biodiversity databases in Brazil, despite their ecological importance. In Brazil, Flora e Funga do Brasil recognizes 1,618 bryophyte species distributed across six biomes that are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic pressures such as deforestation, agricultural expansion, and climate change. Nevertheless, knowledge of species geographic distributions remains fragmented and based on scattered records. Flora e Funga do Brasil serves as the official taxonomic reference for the country, providing the accepted species list and serving as a baseline for biodiversity studies. However, as it was designed as a nomenclatural and taxonomic checklist, it does not integrate primary occurrence records with geographic coordinates and collection dates. Consequently, occurrence data remain dispersed across herbaria, digital repositories, and the scientific literature, without dynamic updates linked to the official checklist. This disconnect between the taxonomic framework and primary occurrence records limits macroecological and biogeographical analyses at national scales, which depend on standardized georeferenced biodiversity databases. To address this gap, we compiled 102,528 bryophyte occurrence records from herbarium specimens, using data from GBIF and the speciesLink network, complemented by field collections from the Caatinga and records from the Cryptogamic Herbarium of the State University of Piaui. All records were georeferenced and curated, including verification of inconsistent coordinates, removal of duplicates, and taxonomic standardization using Bryonames. When available, information such as collection date and collector was retained. The dataset comprises 1,821 species, 125 families, and 442 genera. Bryophyta (mosses) was the most diverse group (1,056 spp., 84 families, 310 genera), followed by Marchantiophyta (745 spp., 37 families, 124 genera) and Anthocerotophyta (19 spp., four families, seven genera). Among mosses, the most species-rich families were Sphagnaceae (79 spp.), Fissidentaceae (76 spp.), and Pottiaceae (76 spp.). Among liverworts, Lejeuneaceae dominated with 335 species, followed by Lepidoziaceae (58 spp.) and Plagiochilaceae (51 spp.). Among hornworts, Anthocerotaceae, Dendrocerotaceae, and Notothyladaceae each included six species. Regionally, the Southeast showed the highest richness (1,338 spp.), followed by the South (974 spp.), Central-West (937 spp.), Northeast (897 spp.), and North (763 spp.). Regarding biomes, the Atlantic Forest (1,523 spp.) and Amazon (1,054 spp.) were the most species-rich, followed by the Cerrado (810 spp.), Caatinga (671 spp.), Pampa (269 spp.), and Pantanal (61 spp.). These patterns reflect both ecological gradients and historical sampling biases. This dataset bridges the gap between the official taxonomic checklist and primary occurrence data by integrating multiple sources into a standardized, openly accessible database. It provides a robust tool for studies in macroecology, biogeography, and conservation, enabling analyses of spatial patterns of species richness, endemism, and taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity across environmental gradients. It also supports species distribution modeling, climate change impact assessments, biodiversity hotspot identification, and conservation planning at regional and national scales. Users are encouraged to cite this article when using the dataset and to report downstream applications derived from it.