Freshwater bivalves (FWB) are attracting scientific and societal attention given their essential ecosystem services, ecological functions, and poor conservation status. Current knowledge of the spatial distribution of West Palearctic FWB is poor preventing the understanding of biogeography and conservation planning. One of the priorities of the pan-European networking project "CONFREMU - Conservation of freshwater mussels: a pan-European approach" funded by the European Union, was to fill the knowledge gap on the distribution of FWB in Europe and adjacent regions. Based on the efforts of this network of scientists, we provide the most complete, taxonomically, and geographically accurate distribution of FWB species for the entire West Palearctic. The dataset contains 270,287 geo-referenced records of 93 native and 8 non-native FWB from 1674 to 2023. The dataset compiles information from private records from 82 specialists and multiple sources (e.g., published articles, grey literature, biodiversity databases, and scientific collections). This dataset, available online, represents an important data source for future studies on the biodiversity, biogeography, and conservation of these important organisms.

Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua M P Consejería de Sostenibilidad y Medio Ambiente Granada Spain

Aquatic Ecology Group Department of Zoology University of Cambridge The David Attenborough Building Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK

Aquatic Systems Biology Unit Technical University of Munich Muehlenweg 22 85354 Freising Germany

Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management Laufen Germany

Berdychiv medical college Berdychiv Shevchenko 14 13300 Berdychiv Ukraine

Biota Estudos e Divulgação em Ambiente Lda ABC Conventos de S Miguel das Gaeiras 2620 529 Gaeiras Portugal

Blattfisch e U Consultants in Aquatic Ecology and Engineering Leopold Spitzer Straße 26 4600 Wels Austria

CBMA Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology Department of Biology University of Minho Campus Gualtar 4710 057 Braga Portugal

Centro de Investigação de Montanha Instituto Politécnico de Bragança Campus de Santa Apolónia 5300 253 Bragança Portugal

CIBIO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos InBIO Laboratório Associado Campus de Vairão Universidade do Porto 4485 661 Vairão Portugal

CIIMAR CIMAR LA Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research University of Porto Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões 4450 208 Matosinhos Portugal

CITAB UTAD Centre for Research and Technology of Agro Environment and Biological Sciences University of Trás os Montes and Alto Douro Forestry Department Vila Real Portugal

CNR Water Research Institute Largo Tonolli 50 28922 Verbania Italy

College of Ptuj Vičava 1 2250 Ptuj Slovenia

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Jyväskylä Survontie 9C 40014 Jyvaskyla Finland

Department of Biology Faculty of Science University of Zagreb Horvatovac 102a 10000 Zagreb Croatia

Department of Ecology and Geography Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University 40 Velyka Berdychivska Str Zhytomyr 10008 Ukraine

Department of Environment and Biodiversity University of Salzburg Hellbrunnerstr 34 A 5020 Salzburg Austria

Department of Evolutionary Biology Kazimierz Wielki University Ossolinskich 12 85 093 Bydgoszcz Poland

Department of General Zoology Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6 61 614 Poznań Poland

Department of Hydroecology and Water Protection Institute for Biological Research Siniša Stanković National institute of Republic of Serbia University of Belgrade Bulevar despota Stefana 142 Belgrade Serbia

Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection University of Lodz Banacha 12 16 90 237 Lodz Poland

Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun 87 100 Torun Poland

Department of Zoology and Fisheries Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Science Prague CZ 16500 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Zoology Poznań University of Life Sciences Wojska Polskiego 28 60 637 Poznań Poland

Environmental Service Department Sociedad Aragonesa de Gestión Agroambiental Zaragoza Spain

Estonian University of Life Sciences Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Chair of Hydrobiology and Fisheries Limnoloogia tee 1 61117 Elva Municipality Estonia

Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea Zoologia eta Animalia Zelulen Biologia Sailaren Vitoria Gasteiz Spain

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences Bialystok University of Technology Wiejska 45E Białystok 15 351 Poland

Finnish Museum of Natural History University of Helsinki 00014 Helsinki Finland

Fondation Hëllef fir d'Natur by natur and ëmwelt Haaptstrooss 14 L 9764 Marnach Luxembourg

Freshwater Biological Association The Ferry Landing Far Sawrey Ambleside Cumbria LA22 0LP UK

ICBAS School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences U Porto University of Porto Laboratory of Cytogenetics Porto Portugal

IMB National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Institute of Marine Biology Pushkinska Street 37 Odessa 65048 Ukraine

Independent Nature Management Consultant Zürich Switzerland

Independent researcher 2131 Göd Budai Nagy Antal u 10 Budapest Hungary

Independent Researcher Rúa do Presidente Salvador Allende n° 13 baixo A 15705 Santiago de Compostela Spain

Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle CNRS Sorbonne Université EPHE Université des Antilles 57 rue Cuvier CP 51 75005 Paris France

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd 1000 Sofia Bulgaria

Institute of Biology Biotechnology and Environmental Protection Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Silesia in Katowice Bankowa 9 40 007 Katowice Poland

Institute of Evolutionary Biology Faculty of Biology University of Warsaw Żwirki i Wigury 101 Warsaw 02 089 Poland

Institute of Landscape Ecology Slovak Academy of Sciences Štefánikova 3 P O BOX 254 814 99 Bratislava Slovak Republic

Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters Hellenic Centre for Marine Research 46 7km Athens Sounio Av Anavyssos 19013 Attica Greece

Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences Al A Mickiewicza 33 31 120 Kraków Poland

Institute of Zoology Ilia State University Tbilisi 0162 Georgia

Institution of Environmental and Life Sciences Karlstad University Biology 65188 Karlstad Sweden

Life History Evolution Group Institute of Environmental Sciences Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7 30 387 Kraków Poland

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu Faculty of Sciences 5 7 Raţiu Street 550012 Sibiu Romania

MARE Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre ARNET Aquatic Research Network Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa Campo Grande 1749 016 Lisbon Portugal

Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales José Gutiérrez Abascal 2 28006 Madrid Spain

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research P O Box 5685 Torgarden NO 7485 Trondheim Norway

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Sognsveien 68 0855 Oslo Norway

Østfold Museum Foundation Dep Haldenvassdragets Kanalmuseum P O Box 64 N 1870 Ørje Norway

Ovidius University Constanța Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences 900470 Constanța Romania

Public service of Wallonia Agriculture Natural Resources and the Environment DEMNA Directorate of Nature and Water 23 Avenue M Juin 5030 Gembloux Belgique

Public service of Wallonia Agriculture Natural Resources and the Environment DEMNA Directorate of Nature and Water 23 Avenue Maréchal Juin 5030 Gembloux Belgique

Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences Radboud University Nijmegen the Netherlands; Netherlands Centre of Expertise on Exotic Species Nijmegen Gelderland the Netherlands

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny Vautierstraat 29 1000 Brussels Belgium

Royal Belgian Society for Conchology Study Group Succinea Mechelsveldstraat 24 2800 Mechelen Belgium

Scientific and Practical Center for Bioresources of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Akademicheskaya Str 27 220072 Minsk Belarus

State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre P B Šivickis Laboratory of Parasitology Akademijos Str 2 LT 08412 Vilnius Lithuania

Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History Rosenstein 1 70191 Stuttgart Germany

Trinity Centre for the Environment School of Natural Sciences Department of Zoology Trinity College Dublin The University of Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland

Universidad de Salamanca Departamento e Biología Animal E 37007 Salamanca Spain

Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Dpto of Zooloxía Xenética e Antropoloxía Física Facultade de Veterinaria IBADER 27002 Lugo Spain

University of Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty Department of Biology Jamnikarjeva 101 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia

University of Lodz Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology Banacha 12 16 90 237 Lodz Poland

URBANZERO Institute for holistic environmental management Ltd Selo pri Mirni 17 8233 Mirna Slovenia

WWF Hungary H 1141 Álmos vezér útja 69 A Budapest Hungary

Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University Department of Earth Sciences 103 Chudnivska str 10005 Zhytomyr Ukraine

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A curated dataset on the distribution of West Palaearctic freshwater bivalves