Animal of the week

Common names: Black mamba, black-mouthed mamba, southern brown mamba (Eng.); swartmamba (Afr.), imamba emnyama (isiZulu & Ndebele); mokwepa (Setswana and […]

Common names: Cape dwarf chameleon (Eng.); Kaapse dwerg trapsuutjies (Afr.), Rimpfani (Xitsonga) Synonym(s): Lacerta pumila (Gmelin, 1789) First sentence/ opening […]

Common names: Tomato russet mite Description/how to recognize a……. Aculops lycopersici, commonly known as tomato russet mites, are so small […]

Common names:  House Crow, Indian House Crow, Grey-necked Crow, Town Crow, Ceylon Crow, Colombo Crow and Grey-necked Crow (Eng.); huiskraai […]

A song-filled, perky, shy, yet curious bird that bears an orange throat and a striking white speculum, which separates the […]

Description/How to recognize a…….. An adult Drosophila melanogaster (common fruit fly) is yellow-brown (tan) in colour, and is only about […]

Derivation of scientific name: Even though primarily a carnivore/insectivore, honey badgers search out honeybee hives, hence their English common name. […]

Hover flies are among the most important pollinators globally, providing pollination services to many crops and natural vegetation. About 230 […]

Derivation of scientific name (if known) The species name gutturalis derives from the loud calls of the guttural toad. Common […]

Derivation of scientific name The genus name Philantomba has no known origin and the species name monticola refers to the […]

Derivation of scientific name: The animal has a disc-shaped cephalic shield (hard structure covering the head region) that protects its […]

Common names: Land hopper Talitriator africana is talitrid land hopper, which occurs mainly in forest and transitional areas between forest […]

Common names: cheetah, southeast African cheetah, hunting leopard (Eng.); jagluiperd (Afr.); lengau (seSotho, seTswana); xikankanka (Xitsonga); ihlosi (isiXhosa); ingulule (isiZulu) […]

Common names: Small minnow mayfly (Eng.) (note: all members of the family Baetidae are referred to as Small minnow mayflies). […]