Dataset Information

Updated list of Collembola species currently recorded from South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the abundance and richness of species is one of the most fundamental steps in effecting their conservation. Despite global recognition of the significance of the below-ground component of diversity for ecosystem functioning, the soil remains a poorly studied terrestrial ecosystem. In South Africa, knowledge is increasing for a variety of soil faunal groups, but many still remain poorly understood. We have started to address this gap in the knowledge of South African soil biodiversity by focusing on the Collembola in an integrated project that encompasses systematics, barcoding and ecological assessments. Here we provide an updated list of the Collembola species from South Africa. A total of 124 species from 61 genera and 17 families has been recorded, of which 75 are considered endemic, 24 widespread, and 25 introduced. This total number of species excludes the 36 species we consider to be dubious. From the published data, Collembola species richness is high compared to other African countries, but low compared to European countries. This is largely a consequence of poor sampling in the African region, as our discovery of many new species in South Africa demonstrates. Our analyses also show that much ongoing work will be required before a reasonably comprehensive and spatially explicit picture of South Africa's springtail fauna can be provided, which may well exceed 1000 species. Such work will be necessary to help South Africa meet its commitments to biodiversity conservation, especially in the context of the 2020 Aichi targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

SUBMITTER: Janion-Scheepers C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4440272 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Updated list of Collembola species currently recorded from South Africa.

Janion-Scheepers Charlene C Deharveng Louis L Bedos Anne A Chown Steven L SL

ZooKeys 20150511 503

Understanding the abundance and richness of species is one of the most fundamental steps in effecting their conservation. Despite global recognition of the significance of the below-ground component of diversity for ecosystem functioning, the soil remains a poorly studied terrestrial ecosystem. In South Africa, knowledge is increasing for a variety of soil faunal groups, but many still remain poorly understood. We have started to address this gap in the knowledge of South African soil biodiversi ...[more]

PMID: 26019671

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Project description:BackgroundThe previous species list of South African Mantodea, published in 1998, was largely compiled from the literature and did not incorporate data from the many insect museum collections available in the country. It is estimated that approximately 120 species of Mantodea occur in South Africa; however, since no historical museum records were previously incorporated, the current information is considered to be outdated and not a true reflection of the Mantodea fauna within this region. A checklist of species is an important benchmark for any insect group, especially in light of the worldwide declines of insect diversity reported over the last decade. Checklists that provide accurate information on insect diversity, especially for groups, such as the Mantodea which could be under threat and thus could provide important information that can be used in determining the threat status of species, as well as to aid in their conservation in general.New informationThis paper provides an updated checklist of the praying mantids (Insecta, Mantodea) species of South Africa. While 120 species were previously reported to occur in South Africa, this paper reports 157 species in 64 genera that represent eight different superfamilies, 14 families and 22 subfamilies. Additionally, five species are reported for the first time to occur in South Africa. This species list was generated from the approximately 4000 specimen records of which 3558 records reside within South Africa. The remaining 732 records represent 14 other African countries. Occurrence records from two citizen-science platforms (iNaturalist and Gbif.org), were also incorporated in this study, adding 1880 species records in South Africa. The low number of specimens in the national collections indicate that this group of insects is poorly collected and highlights the lack of knowledge about South Africa's mantid fauna, as well as a lack of taxonomic expertise as 1532 museum specimens remain unidentified to species level.

Dataset Information

Updated list of Collembola species currently recorded from South Africa.

Publications

Updated list of Collembola species currently recorded from South Africa.

Similar Datasets

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