|
Platypleura Sylvia
''Platypleura sylvia'' is a species of cicada endemic to South Africa. It was first described and named by William Lucas Distant in 1899 in the ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History''. ''Insecta transvaaliensia'' was self-published by Distant and appeared in twelve parts over the period 1900-1911. The series was an account of Distant's insect-collecting trips through the Transvaal. The collected parts were published as a single volume after Distant's death by Francis Edwards of London in 1924. Specimens of this species were collected in 1906 and then not found again in the field until 2001 "''when small, localised populations were discovered during a faunal survey for the Environmental Management Programme Report for the Anglo Platinum ''Der Brochen Platinum'' project in the Groot Dwars River valley, Mpumalanga.''" ''Platypleura sylvia''As a result a behavioural study was carried out in the Groot Dwars River valley in 2001 and 2002, during which researchers found that the adult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Lucas Distant
William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe – 4 February 1922 Wanstead) was an English entomologist. Biography Early years Distant was born in Rotherhithe, the son of whaling captain Alexander Distantspecies:B.R. Subba Rao, Rao, B.R. Subba (1998) ''History of Entomology in India''. Institution of Agricultural Technologists, Bangalore. and his wife, Sarah Ann Distant (née Berry). Following his father's death in 1867, a trip to the Malay Peninsula to visit his older brother, also named Alexander and a ship's captain, aroused his interest in natural history, and resulted in the publication of ''Rhopalocera Malayana'' (1882–1886), a description of the butterflies of the Malay Peninsula. (He considered 5 August 1867 as the most eventful day in his life). Career Much of Distant's early life was spent working in a London tannery, and while employed there he made two long visits to the South African Republic, Transvaal. The first resulted in the publication of ''A Natu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cicada
The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed. Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart, short antennae, and membranous front wings. They have an exceptionally loud song, produced in most species by the rapid buckling and unbuckling of drumlike tymbals. The earliest known fossil Cicadomorpha appeared in the Upper Permian period; extant species occur all around the world in temperate to tropical climates. They typically live in trees, feeding on watery sap from xylem tissue, and laying their eggs in a slit in the bark. Most cicadas are cryptic. The vast majority of species are active during the day as adults, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...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] |
Annals And Magazine Of Natural History
The ''Journal of Natural History'' is a scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis focusing on entomology and zoology. The journal was established in 1841 under the name ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' (''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'') and obtained its current title in 1967. The journal was formed by the merger of the ''Magazine of Natural History'' (1828–1840) and the ''Annals of Natural History'' (1838–1840; previously the ''Magazine of Zoology and Botany'', 1836–1838) and '' Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History''. In September 1855, the ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' published "On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New Species", a paper which Alfred Russel Wallace had written while working in the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo in February of that year. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transvaal Colony
The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The borders of the Transvaal Colony were larger than the defeated South African Republic (which had existed from 1856 to 1902). In 1910 the entire territory became the Transvaal Province of the Union of South Africa. History Both the Boer republics, the South African Republic (ZAR) and the Orange Free State were defeated in the Anglo-Boer War and surrendered to the UK. The peace treaty (Treaty of Vereeniging) contained the following terms: # That all burghers of the ZAR and Orange Free State lay down their arms and accept King Edward VII as their sovereign. # That all burghers outside the borders of the ZAR and Orange Free State, upon declaring their allegiance to the King, be transpo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sekhukhuneland
Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the historical Transvaal zone, former Transvaal Province, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named after the 19th-century King, Sekhukhune I. Geography This region is mainly covered by grassland and was inhabited traditionally by the Bapedi in an area stretching across central and northern Transvaal. Sekhukhuneland lies in present-day Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, between the Olifants River (Lepelle) and its tributary the Steelpoort River (Tubatse); bordered on the east by the Drakensberg Range, and crossed by the Thaba Ya Sekhukhune in the southeast and the Leolo Mountains in the north. History At the height of the Pedi power under Thulare, about 1790–1820, historical Sekhukhuneland included an area stretching from the site of present-day Rustenburg in the west to the Lowveld in the east, and ranging as far south as the Vaal r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vitex Obovata
''Vitex'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae.List of Genera in Lamiaceae. At: Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below). It has about 250 species.Raymond M. Harley, Sandy Atkins, Andrey L. Budantsev, Philip D. Cantino, Barry J. Conn, Renée J. Grayer, Madeline M. Harley, Rogier P.J. de Kok, Tatyana V. Krestovskaja, Ramón Morales, Alan J. Paton, and P. Olof Ryding. 2004. "Labiatae" pages 167-275. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume VII. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany. ''Vitex'' In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: Regnum Vegetabile (see ''External links'' below). Common names include chaste tree or chastetree, traditionally referring to '' V. agnus-castus'', but often applied to other species, as well. Species of ''Vitex'' are native throughout the tropics and subtro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verbenaceae
The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The family Verbenaceae includes 32 genera and 800 species. Phylogenetic studies have shown that numerous genera traditionally classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae. The mangrove genus ''Avicennia'', sometimes placed in the Verbenaceae or in its own family, Avicenniaceae, has been placed in the Acanthaceae. Economically important Verbenaceae include: * Lemon verbena (''Aloysia triphylla''), grown for aroma or flavoring * Verbenas or vervains (''Verbena''), some used in herbalism, others grown in gardens Taxonomy Tribes and genera in the family and their estimated species numbers: Casselieae (Schauer) Tronc. * '' Casselia'' Nees & Mart. - 6 species * '' Parodianthus'' Tronc. - 2 species * ''Tamonea'' Aubl. - 6 species Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than north to south and east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld. The population is composed primarily of ethnic Swazis. The prevalent language is Swazi (''siSwati'' in native form). The Swazis established their kingdom in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Ngwane III. The country and the Swazi take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule the country was expanded and unified; its boundaries were drawn up in 1881 in the midst of the Scramble for Africa. After the Second Boer War, the kingdom, under the name of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exuviae
In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans (including insects, crustaceans and arachnids) have moulted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often be used to identify the species of the animal and even its sex. As studying insects, crustaceans, or arachnids directly is not always possible, and because exuviae can be collected fairly easily, they can play an important part in helping to determine some general aspects of a species' overall life cycle such as distribution, sex ratio, production, and proof of breeding in a habitat. Exuviae have been suggested as a "gold standard" for insect monitoring. For instance, when monitoring dragonfly populations the presence of exuviae of a species demonstrates that the species has completed its full life cycle from egg to adult in a habitat. However, it has also been suggested that the fact that exuviae can be hard to find could lead to an undere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groot Dwars River
Groot () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Tales to Astonish'' #13 (Nov. 1960). An extraterrestrial, sentient tree-like creature, the original Groot first appeared as an invader that intended to capture humans for experimentation. The character can only say the repeated line "''I am Groot''", but has different meaning. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star-Lord, Thor, and Rocket Raccoon are able to understand him. The character was reintroduced as a heroic, noble being in 2006, and appeared in the crossover comic book storyline " Annihilation: Conquest". Groot went on to star in its spin-off series, '' Guardians of the Galaxy'', joining the team of the same name. Groot has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel merchandise, including animated television series, toys and trading cards. Vin Diesel voices Groot (with Kryst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Endemism")
_W_IMG_9162.jpg "Click for more on -> Verbenaceae")
