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Glencairn Wetland
Glencairn Wetland is a small reserve on the Cape Peninsula, in the southern areas of Greater Cape Town, South Africa. Located next to the village of Glencairn, this reserve protects the indigenous Cape wetland of the lower Else River, with its abundance of plant and animal life. The wetland is managed by the City of Cape Town with local volunteers, and it now includes a figure-of-eight system of footpaths, with hiking trails and stepping stones to cross waterways. Several bird species can be seen here and this is a popular site for fishing and school excursions. The mammal life, including otter, mongoose and porcupine, is mostly nocturnal and rarely seen. Small reptiles such as the angulate tortoise, the marsh terrapin and a range of snakes and lizards are also found here. Amphibian life includes a wide range of species such as the endangered western leopard toad, the arum lily frog, the Cape river frog The Cape river frog (''Amietia fuscigula'') is a species of frog in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest (after Johannesburg). Colloquially named the ''Mother City'', it is the largest city of the Western Cape province, and is managed by the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The other two capitals are Pretoria, the executive capital, located in Gauteng, where the Presidency is based, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital in the Free State, where the Supreme Court of Appeal is located. Cape Town is ranked as a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The city is known for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is home to 66% of the Western Cape's population. In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelomedusa Subrufa
The African helmeted turtle (''Pelomedusa subrufa''), also known commonly as the marsh terrapin, the crocodile turtle, or in the pet trade as the African side-necked turtle, is a species of omnivorous Pleurodira, side-necked terrapin in the Family (biology), family Pelomedusidae. The species naturally occurs in fresh and stagnant water bodies throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa, and in southern Yemen. Description The marsh terrapin is typically a rather small turtle, with most individuals being less than in straight carapace length, but one has been recorded with a length of . It has a black or brown carapace. The top of the tail and limbs are a grayish brown, while the underside is yellowish. The male turtle is distinguished by its long, thick tail. A female tends to have a shorter tail and a broader carapace. A hatchling has a shell size of about in length, and is olive to black in color. It also has two small tubercles under the chin and musk glands in the sides of the ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Nature Reserves In Cape Town
The City of Cape Town, South Africa has numerous nature reserves within the city limits. City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town manages the following nature reserves in the Cape Town metropolitan area: Temp North region * * * * * * * South region * * * * * * * * * * * * Central region * * * * East region * * * * * * * * CapeNature CapeNature, the Western Cape provincial conservation authority, manages Driftsands Nature Reserve on the Cape Flats, and the eastern part of the Kogelberg Nature Reserve. A small area of the Hottentots-Holland Nature Reserve also falls within the city limits of Cape Town. South African National Parks (SANParks) South African National Parks (SANParks) manages the following nature reserve in Cape Town: * Table Mountain National Park Eskom Eskom manages the following nature reserve in Cape Town: * Koeberg Nature Reserve University of the Western Cape (UWC) The University of the Western Cape (UWC) mana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity Of Cape Town
The Biodiversity of Cape Town is the variety and variability of life within the geographical extent of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, excluding the Prince Edward Islands. The terrestrial vegetation is particularly diverse and much of it is endemic to the city and its vicinity. Terrestrial and freshwater animal life is heavily impacted by urban development and habitat degradation. Marine life of the waters immediately adjacent to the city along the Cape Peninsula and in False Bay is also diverse, and while also impacted by human activity, the habitats are relatively intact. Floristic region (phytochorion) The City of Cape Town lies within the Cape Floristic Kingdom, by far the smallest and most diverse of the earth's six floristic kingdoms, an area of extraordinarily high diversity and endemism, and home to over 9,000 vascular plant species, of which 69 percent are endemic. Much of this diversity is associated with the fynbos biome, a Mediterranean-type, fire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strongylopus Grayii
Gray's stream frog (''Strongylopus grayii'') is a fairly small species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae.Du Preez, L. H.; Carruthers, Vincent. ''A Complete Guide to the Frogs of Southern Africa''. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Nature. 2009Carruthers, Vincent. ''Frogs and Frogging in Southern Africa''. Struik Nature. 2001. , It is a ground dweller, living mainly in vegetation such as sedges, generally brown, slenderly built and agile, with long, practically unwebbed toes. Description ''Strongylopus grayii'' is a fairly small species (snout-to-vent length of breeding specimens about 25 to 50 mm). The snout is not as pointed as most of the genus, the snout profile being rather reminiscent of the Cape river frog. The ventral skin is smooth, pale to white, the dorsal skin colour is variable, generally shades of brown with darker blotches. Similar blotches form bars across the upper surfaces of the thighs. Often it has a vertebral line in a lightly contrasting colour, pale t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amietia Fuscigula
The Cape river frog (''Amietia fuscigula'') is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae named for the Cape of Good Hope. Formerly, it was placed in the family Ranidae. It occurs widely in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. A newly described species, '' A. poyntoni'', was split from this species in 2013. Description The Cape river frog is a fairly large, typical frog with a snout-to-vent measurement of up to about 125 mm. The snout is slightly rounded. It has a powerful, athletic build with long hind legs and feet, well adapted for leaping, but also well webbed; the species is a powerful swimmer. The fore feet are not webbed. When the animal sits at rest on a level surface, the tip of the longest rear toe reaches to directly below the tympanum. The ventral skin is smooth and white, except for dark mottling on the throat. The mottling inspired the specific epithet ''fuscigula'': Latin for "dusky throated". In some specimens, the mottling ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperolius Horstockii
The arum frog, Horstock's arum-frog, arum lily frog, or Horstock's reed frog (''Hyperolius horstockii'') is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to South Africa. Identification Adults grow to 40 mm in length. They have bright orange feet and can change their colour to camouflage themselves. The top of the body is cream to brown, sometimes with small black spots. A distinctive, pale, dorsolateral line runs from the snout along the flanks, with a dark-brown lateral band underneath. A fine, dark line usually separates the pale line from the brown band. The concealed surfaces of limbs, webbing, and discs are orange to red. Underneath, the frog is creamy white and slightly granular. The gular flap in males is bright ochre. their pupils are horizontal. Tadpoles reach 40 mm. They are brown with longitudinal, darker bands on their tails. Distribution and habitat The arum frog is found in the southern coastal plain of South Africa from Cape Town in the W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amietophrynus Pantherinus
The western leopard toad (''Sclerophrys pantherina'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is endemic to the low-lying areas of the Cape Peninsula, the Cape Flats and the Agulhas flats of the Western Cape, South Africa. Populations and range Two macro-populations exist, broadly referred to as the Cape Town and Overberg clusters. Its natural foraging habitats is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, falling within several vegetation types including Cape Flats Sand Plain Fynbos and Cape Flats Dune Strandveld. Habitat The species is not restricted to pristine habitat as much of its historical feeding grounds currently fall under residential suburbs, hence leopard toads are often found living in suburban gardens. Breeding habitat includes swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, urban riverine watercourses, natural ponds and garden ponds. Threats It is threatened by habitat loss Habit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angulate Tortoise
The angulate tortoise (''Chersina angulata'') is a species of tortoise found in dry areas and coastal scrubland, scrub vegetation in South Africa. This tortoise is the monotypic, only known member of the genus ''Chersina''. Name and taxonomy This species is highly distinctive and is now classified by itself, in the monotypic ''Chersina'' genus. While it differs considerably from all other tortoise species, its closest relatives, according to phylogenetic studies, are the tiny "padloper" (''Homopus'') tortoise species, with which it shares its southern African habitat. Internationally it is known by the two names of "angulate" and "bowsprit" tortoise. Locally in southern Africa however, it is uniformly known as the "angulate" tortoise in English, and as the ''rooipens skilpad'' ("red-belly tortoise") in Afrikaans. Description Identification A small, shy tortoise with a relatively variable shell, they can often be distinguished by their prominent "bowsprits", which are protrusio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles (including birds) from which they diverged in the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described divided into 29 orders. The largest orders, in terms of number of species, are the rodents, bats, and Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and others). The next three are the Primates (including humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Artiodactyla ( cetaceans and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, seals, and others). In terms of cladistics, which reflects evolutionary history, mammals are the only living members of the Synapsida (synapsids); this clade, together with Saur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning. The term fishing broadly includes catching aquatic animals other than fish, such as crustaceans ( shrimp/ lobsters/crabs), shellfish, cephalopods (octopus/squid) and echinoderms ( starfish/ sea urchins). The term is not normally applied to harvesting fish raised in controlled cultivations ( fish farming). Nor is it normally applied to hunting aquatic mammals, where terms like whaling and sealing are used instead. Fishing has been an important part of human culture since hunter-gatherer times, and is one of the few food production activities that have persisted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
