Animal of the week

Table Mountain ghost frog

Common names: Rose’s ghost frog, thumbed ghost frog, Tafelbergse spookpadda (Afr.) Derivation of scientific name The name name ‘Heleophryne’ comes […]

Fairy Flycatcher

Derivation of scientific name The Latin specific name ‘scita’ can be translated to ‘neat’ or handsome’ (Hockey et al. 2005). […]

African penguin

Derivation of scientific name The genus name Spheniscus is derived from the ancient Greek word sphen, which means wedge, referring […]

Water mongoose

Common names: Water mongoose, marsh mongoose (English); kommetjiegatmuishond (Afrikaans). Derivation of name: The Afrikaans name, kommetjiegatmuishond, refers to the sac […]

Giant plated lizard

Derivation of scientific name The genus name is partly derived from the Ndebele word matobo meaning ‘bold heads’ in reference […]

Giant pill-millipede

Derivation of scientific name The name millipede comes from the Latin word mille meaning thousand and pedis meaning foot. Even […]

Black girdled lizard

Common name: Black girdled lizard, swart-skurwejantjie (Afrikaans) Derivation of scientific name The genus name Cordylus Laurenti was established in 1768 […]

Little Karoo dwarf chameleon

Derivation of scientific name Bradypodion is derived from Latin and means ‘slow-footed’. Common names: Little Karoo dwarf chameleon, Robertson dwarf […]

Vervet monkey

Official common name: Vervet monkey Derivation of scientific name Commonly called vervet monkeys, or just vervets, Cercopithecus means ‘long-tailed monkey’. […]

Black-backed jackal

Common names: Black-backed jackal, rooijakkals Derivation of name Canis is the Latin translation of dog or hound. Black-backed refers to […]

Angulate Tortoise

Derivation of scientific name The genus name Chersina is derived from the Greek word “chersinos” meaning land tortoise. The specific […]

Transvaal fat-tailed scorpion

Common names: Phepeng (Sepedi), fezela (isiZulu), xipamu (Xitsonga) Parabuthus transvaalicus is one of the biggest scorpions in the family Buthidae, […]

Leaproach

Common name: Leaproach Derivation of scientific name Saltoblattella is the Latin translation of “jumping small cockroach” and montistabularis is […]

Chacma baboon

Derivation of common name: The word “chacma” is derived from the Hottentot (Khoikhoi) name for baboon, viz choachamma or choa […]

Black Harrier

Derivation of scientific name: Circus – hawks that circle. Maurus – black Common names: Witkruispaddavreter, Witkruisvleivalk (Afrikaans) The Black Harrier […]

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