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Latrodectus Umbukwane
''Latrodectus umbukwane,'' commonly known as the Phinda button spider, is a species of the spider in the genus ''Latrodectus'' described in 2019, named after the Phinda Private Game Reserve where research specimens were collected. , it is known only from critically endangered sand forest environments in northern Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is believed to be the largest member of its genus. Discovery A single female was first found in 2014 in the Tembe Elephant Park. It was observed until its natural death two years later, when it was collected and sent to a laboratory. In 2017 a professional entomologist joined the study and a number of live specimens were collected from the Phinda reserve. They and their offspring were studied until 2019 when it was confirmed to be a new species. The first addition in 28 years to the 31 previously known button, or widow spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'', of which eight are found in Africa. Description Females have red markings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latrodectus
''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. However, the diversity of species is much greater. A member of the family Theridiidae, this genus contains 34 species, which include several North American "black widows" (southern black widow ''Latrodectus mactans'', western black widow ''Latrodectus hesperus'', and northern black widow ''Latrodectus variolus''). Besides these, North America also has the red widow ''Latrodectus bishopi'' and the brown widow ''Latrodectus geometricus'', which, in addition to North America, has a much wider geographic distribution. Elsewhere, others include the European black widow (''Latrodectus tredecimguttatus''), the Australian redback black widow (''Latrodectus hasseltii'') and the closely related New Zealand katipō (''Latrodectus katipo''), several differ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phinda Private Game Reserve
Phinda Private Game Reserve (), formerly known as Phinda Resource Reserve, is a private game reserve situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, between the Mkuze Game Reserve and the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park. Designated in 1991, Phinda is a Zulu word meaning 'return', or more accurately 'repeat'. Phinda has seven distinct ecosystems ranging from palm savannah and mountain bush to rare sand forest and dense thornveld. In 1993 the reserve joined with two neighboring land owners to create the Mun-Ya-Wana Conservancy. Through various land expansion projects, acquisitions, and agreements with local communities, the conservancy has grown to . Martindale, G., and S. Naylor. "Mun-Ya-Wana Conservancy Management Plan." (2018 As of May 2020, the South African company WildEarth have broadcast drives from Phinda in collaboration with &Beyond. Fauna Wildlife inhabiting this reserve include elephant, giraffe, zebra, lion, African wild dog, blue wildebeest, Cape buffalo, hippopotam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Forest
A sand forest is a type of rare subtropical forest region, distinctive due to its unique combination of plant (often rare plant) and animal species, and their restriction to ancient coastal dunes. Sand forests are found in Maputaland in South Africa, as well as parts of the Amazon basin in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. They are typically composed of clay soils and nutrient poor white sands. These forests are commonly referred to as "sand forests" in the South African regions. However, in Mozambique, they are known as the "Lucauati forests". In the Amazon, they are colloquially known as ''campinaranas'' and ''campinas''. Few studies have been carried out on the sand forests. Those studies that have been conducted, the majority of the research has been on the plant diversity within these forests. Origins There have been no comprehensive studies undertaken in the white sand forests. A full understanding of the process in which they have emerged is lacking. However, it is thought tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom while the southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Repu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tembe Elephant Park
Tembe Elephant Park is a 30 012 ha game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is adjacent to Ndumo Game Reserve. The park was developed by Tembe Tribal Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. It was established in 1983 to protect elephants which used to migrate between Maputaland and southern Mozambique. These elephants were traumatised by poaching during the civil war in Mozambique so the park was only opened to the public in 1991. The park is now home to 250 elephants which are the largest in the world. Isilo, the largest living tusker in the southern hemisphere, died in 2014. 200 more elephants which used to be part of the same group live in the Maputo Elephant Reserve in Mozambique. The Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area is planned to link the two reserves and the Lubombo Conservancy in Eswatini in a single transfrontier reserve. More than 340 bird species have been recorded in Tembe, including the rare Rudd's apalis, the rufous-bellied heron, the Nata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spermatheca
The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other invertebrates and vertebrates. Its purpose is to receive and store sperm from the male or, in the case of hermaphrodites, the male component of the body. Spermathecae can sometimes be the site of fertilization when the oocytes are sufficiently developed. Some species of animal have multiple spermathecae. For example, certain species of earthworms have four pairs of spermathecae—one pair each in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th segments. The spermathecae receive and store the spermatozoa of another earthworm during copulation. They are lined with epithelium and are variable in shape: some are thin, heavily coiled tubes, while others are vague outpocketings from the main reproductive tract. It is one of the many variations in sexual reproduct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palpal Bulb
The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often described as like wearing boxing gloves. The palpal bulb does not actually produce sperm, being used only to transfer it to the female. Palpal bulbs are only fully developed in adult male spiders and are not completely visible until after the final moult. In the majority of species of spider, the bulbs have complex shapes and are important in identification. Structure The palpal bulb of a mature male spider is borne on the last segment of the pedipalp. This segment usually has touch-sensitive hairs (setae) with nerves leading to them. The bulb itself is entirely without nerves, and hence without sensory organs and muscles, since these depend on nerves for their functioning, although some spiders have one or two muscles external to the bulb and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiders Described In 2019
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. , 50,356 spider species in 132 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900. Anatomically, spiders (as with all arachnids) differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two tagmata, the cephalothorax or prosoma, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel, however, as there is currently neither paleontological nor embryological evidence that spiders ever had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiders Of South Africa
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. , 50,356 spider species in 132 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900. Anatomically, spiders (as with all arachnids) differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two tagmata, the cephalothorax or prosoma, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel, however, as there is currently neither paleontological nor embryological evidence that spiders ever had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
