ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520399

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Fungi were first collected for scientific study in southern Africa only in the late 1700s. In the monumental catalogue: “South African Fungi and Lichens to the end of 1945”, Doidge summarised the earliest mycological history of this country. To supplement her work Gorter compiled a bibliography of South African mycological publications for the period 1946 to 1977. The present paper briefly summarises developments since 1977 in terms of the taxonomy, nomenclature and mycobiotic surveys of all groups of fungi, including human and animal pathogens. It pays particular attention to specific habitats such as soil, fresh water, composts and animal dung as well as mycorrhizas. Although we have amassed valuable information about fungi that have an obvious economic impact, the majority remains undiscovered. Non-morphological taxonomy, including molecular and biochemical characters, will help us to expand our knowledge and understanding of the local mycobiota.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520400

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

For 150 years, from the 17th century onward, South African marine invertebrate taxonomy was in the hands of overseas specialists, specimens typically reaching them via “cabinets of curiosities”. A more rigorous approach was adumbrated with the establishment of the South African Museum in 1825, the arrival of professional and semi-professional collectors and, in the second half of the 19th century, the great marine exploratory expeditions. A signal event was the appointment of John D.F. Gilchrist, as South Africa's first resident marine biologist, in 1895, followed by Keppel Barnard's arrival in 1911. Barnard monographed the crustaceans and molluscs, as well as some minor groups, and this was later to be accomplished for the polychaetes by John Day and for the hydroids by Naomi Millard. Few other groups have received such rigorous treatment and some (e.g. bryozoans and subtidal sponges) remain little known. Despite much invertebrate biogeographical work, the key investigator remains Alan Stephenson, in the 1930s; the concepts he developed require only slight modification in the light of subsequent findings. More attention needs to be devoted to marine invertebrate taxonomy and zoogeography if the high standard of marine research achieved in South Africa is to be maintained.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520401

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The history of South African marine malacology began in 1688, when several Cape molluscs were illustrated by Martin Lister. Knowledge of the Cape molluscan fauna developed slowly during the early binomial period, for reasons here discussed. The first major step in inventorying the molluscan fauna was the publication of Krauss'sDie südafrikanischen Molluskenin 1848. based on his own fieldwork. It was not until the last decade of the 19th century that there was a major surge in local interest, when amateur shell collectors began to send collections (mainly from the eastern Cape and Natal) to overseas malacologists. Of these amateurs, W.H. Turton was responsible for the discovery of nearly half of the eastern Cape species now known, although his own published work continues to generate problems. The molluscs of the continental shelf and slope were first scientifically sampled by the Deutsche Tiefsee-Expedition (1898–1899) and by the Cape and Natal governments using thePieter Faure(1897–1901). The latter material was studied first by overseas workers, and later by K.H. Barnard, who published the first overview of South African molluscs in a series of papers between 1958 and 1969. During the last two decades an extensive programme of sampling shelf and slope molluscs was carried out by the Natal Museum, which has produced a vast reservoir of samples that will be studied malacologists at this museum and elsewhere for many decades to come.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520402

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

A brief history of crustacean systematics in South Africa is provided. The first paper devoted entirely to South African Crustacea was published by Ferdinand Krauss in 1843. This set a pattern for the rest of the 19th century in which material was sent to Europe and analysed by the great taxonomists of the time, notably G.O. Sars and T.R.R. Stebbing. From 1910 onwards the focus shifted to local specialists, notably the extraordinarily prolific Keppel Barnard, who provided the inspiration and groundwork for many later workers.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520403

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Southern Africa is endowed with a rich insect fauna of roughly 44000 known or described species in 7700 genera belonging to 570 families. However, the species estimate is thought to represent less than half of the actual species richness. It has taken about 250 years to reach the current level of taxonomic knowledge of the fauna, but with the loss of species through human-induced habitat transformation and the shortage of human and financial resources, the prospect of documenting the remaining fauna in the foreseeable future appears slim. Most of the pre-20th century taxonomy was done in Europe, where much of the early material and types are still housed. During the 20th century much of the descriptive taxonomy was done by local taxonomists and rich collections are housed in the country. Foreign researchers and collections, however, have continued to contribute significantly to documenting the fauna. The current situation is a gradual attrition in the number of local taxonomists (since the majority are past middle age and there is decreasing interest among students), but there is a growing number of foreign taxonomists working on southern African insect groups.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520404

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Systematic studies on South African insects of medical importance have been mainly the preserve of the departments of Medical Entomology at the South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR) and the National Institute for Virology (NIV) in Johannesburg. Very few such studies have emanated from universities or museums. From 1927–1960, these systematic studies resulted in the production of the definitive standard works on the Anophelinae, Simuliidae and Siphonaptera of Africa that are still in use today. After 1960, further books were produced on mites, myiasis and biting flies, lice and sandflies. Revisions of some of these works have been undertaken by SAIMR and NIV staff in recent times, in particular on the Siphonaptera and Culicinae of southern Africa and the Anophelinae of the Afrotropical Region. Because of the presence of species complexes, current systematic studies of the Anophelinae are obliged to use genetical data. Despite their importance for the health of the people of southern Africa, systematic studies on insects of medical importance have decreased over the years, mainly due to diminished resources and a lack of support for this field of endeavour.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520405

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Southern Africa, including South Africa, Namibia, and Mozambique, has a highly diverse fauna of cartilaginous fishes (Class Chondrichthyes), including sharks, rays or ‘flat sharks’, and chimaeras or ‘silver sharks’. All orders, most families, and approximately 210 species of cartilaginous fishes occur in the area, of which 54 are endemics. The paper gives an overview of known diversity of cartilaginous fishes in the area and discusses their classification, distribution, habitats and ecomorphotypes. It also gives a history of chondrichthyan systematics in southern Africa from Linnaeus to the present, analyses the systematic status of the fauna, and discusses future directions for research.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520406

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

There are 196 amphibian species in southern Africa. I review the major periods in the discovery, naming and systematic arrangement of the taxa. The earliest workers were based in European museums, working with specimens submitted by missionaries, explorers and government officials in the colonies. A shift to more field-work is followed by a period of extensive work by scientists based in Africa. The data used by taxonomists have changed as the branches of zoology developed. External morphology is supported later by comparative anatomy of both skeletal elements and soft tissue. The rapid rise of technology in the last two decades has enabled data from sound analysis, chromosomes, proteins and DNA sequences to be used to distinguish taxa. The improvement in computers and software following the rediscovery of Hennig's Phylogenetic Systematics has started to make significant changes to the way systematics is practised, permitting data-rich analyses to replace arrangements based on the opinion of the worker.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520407

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Southern Africa has the richest reptile diversity in Africa, with a fauna that currently exceeds 490 species. Present rates of discovery, which for lizards are still comparable to those in the early phases of exploration, indicate that the fauna may approach, if not exceed, 600 species. Lizards form the dominant component (60.9%) of the reptile fauna. The 578 recognised taxa (species and subspecies) were described by 101 authors, of which 12 authors were responsible for 12 or more taxa and together named 68.9% of the total taxa. The five most productive authors were, in order: A. Smith, W. Peters, D. Broadley, J. Hewitt, and V. FitzSimons. The contributions of these authors, the growth in herpetological studies in the last 25 years, and the importance of regional surveys in the development of biogeographic models, are summarised. Over 50 species of reptile have very restricted distributions (less than 3 quarter-degree grid squares) and may be of conservation concern. Despite national rhetoric evincing concern for the biodiversity crisis, there has been a recent decline in herpetological posts and manpower.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520408

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor