Crosstab formatted data has data in two dimensions, i.e. both a 'header' column and a 'header' row:
| ScientificName | Area 1 | Area 2 | Area 3 |
|---|
| 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 | 4 |
When converted, this data is flattened into a one dimensional list. It now has a single header row and one row per (non-header) cell in the crosstab table:
| ScientificName | [Column heading] | [Cell value] |
|---|
| Malthodes sp. | Area 1 | 5 |
| Malthodes sp. | Area 2 | 0 |
| Malthodes sp. | Area 3 | 2 |
| Podabrus alpinus | Area 1 | 1 |
| Podabrus alpinus | Area 2 | 0 |
| Podabrus alpinus | Area 3 | 0 |
| Podabrus schoenherri | Area 1 | 0 |
| Podabrus schoenherri | Area 2 | 0 |
| Podabrus schoenherri | Area 3 | 4 |