Research Articles (Zoology and Entomology)

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Browsing Research Articles (Zoology and Entomology) by Author "Haddad, Charles R."

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    A new species and new records of Chumma (Araneae, Macrobunidae) from South Africa
    (Pensoft Publishers, 2024) Marusik, Yuri M.; Haddad, Charles R.
    A new species of the genus 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢 Jocqué, 2001, C. 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪 𝐬𝐩. 𝐧𝐨𝐯., is described from the Western Cape, South Africa. New distribution records for 𝘊. 𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2018, 𝘊. 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘢 Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2018 and 𝘊. 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘢 Jocqué, 2001 are presented. The genus is recorded from the Northern Cape Province for the first time, extending its range extensively to the northwest by approximately 450 km. The distribution of all 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢 species is mapped.
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    And they just keep coming: four new genera of dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae, Trachelidae)
    (Pensoft Publishers, 2025) Haddad, Charles R.
    As part of ongoing revisions of the Afrotropical 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘦, four new genera are described from southern Africa: 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., with 𝘍. 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘢 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from South Africa (Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape) as the type species, 𝘍. 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘱𝘰𝘥𝘢 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from the Free State, 𝘍. 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘢 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and a fourth undescribed species from Zimbabwe; the monotypic 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., with 𝘔. 𝘵𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from KwaZulu-Natal as the type species; 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., with 𝘕. 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from the Northern Cape as the type species and 𝘕. 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘦 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from the Western Cape; and 𝘙𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘬 𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from South Africa, with 𝘙. 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. from the Northern Cape as the type species and a second undescribed species from KwaZulu-Natal known only from juveniles.
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    Completing the web: identifying sampling bias and knowledge gaps within South African spider surveys (Arachnida, Araneae)
    (Pensoft Publishers, 2024) van der Mescht, Aileen C.; Haddad, Charles R.; Foord, Stefan H.; Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansie S.
    Species distribution datasets are fundamental for macroecological studies, although there is an overarching need to ensure that these datasets are representative of the entire community. Shortfalls, or knowledge gaps, within biodiversity datasets originate for a range of reasons, and can lead to incorrect conclusions or recommendations being drawn. Spatial scale influences the interpretations of diversity patterns and thus is an important aspect to consider. South Africa has a rich history of spider sampling and as such, it is possible to investigate the influence that scale, both spatial and taxonomic, has on the overall interpretations of how complete the spider knowledge base is in the country. To do this, we draw on curated natural history spider collections and determine how complete the spider assemblages are across twelve unique combinations of taxonomic and spatial scales. Overall, we received 121 605 usable records from seven collections, with spider records and diversity, being concentrated along the eastern and coastal regions of South Africa. We show that assemblage completeness increases with both increasing taxonomic and spatial scales, and as such, knowledge of the distribution of spider families at the biome level is largely complete. Moreover, we show that our fine-scale knowledge of spider assemblages in South Africa is relatively poor, yet we do identify, even at fine scales, assemblages in South Africa that can be considered complete. We identify under-sampled regions of the country, which in turn are congruent with the distribution of under-sampled regions found in other South African invertebrate groups. We show that the scaling of completeness can only be interpreted in one direction: as scale increases so does completeness. These findings will have important implications for spider research and conservation in South Africa, given that regions where completeness is highest correspond strongly to areas in South Africa with the highest threats to biodiversity.
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    The ground spider genera Leptodrassex Murphy, 2007 and Leptopilos Levy, 2009 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) in southern Africa, including the description of a new genus and seven new species
    (Magnolia Press, 2022) Haddad, Charles R.; Booysen, Ruan
    The ground spider genera Leptodrassex Murphy, 2007 and Leptopilos Levy, 2009 are recorded from southern Africa for the first time, with the description of five new species: Leptodrassex murphyi sp. nov. (♂ ♀) from Mozambique and South Africa, and L. capensis sp. nov. (♀) from South Africa; Leptopilos butleri sp. nov. (♂ ♀) and L. vasivulva sp. nov. (♂ ♀) from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and L. digitus sp. nov. (♂ ♀) from South Africa. Further, the new genus Afrodrassex gen. nov. is described, with the type species A. balrog sp. nov. (♂ ♀) from South Africa and Angola, and A. catharinae sp. nov. (♂ ♀) from South Africa described therein. Details of the somatic and genitalic morphology of all three genera are examined by scanning electron microscopy, and revised descriptions of Leptodrassex and Leptopilos are presented.
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    Three new genera of arboreal dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae: Trachelidae).
    (Magnolia Press, 2024) Haddad, Charles R.; Lyle, Robin
    As part of a revision of the Afrotropical species of Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 (Araneae: Trachelidae), we distinguished three new genera of primarily arboreal spiders from southern Africa that are described here: Coronarachne 𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., represented by four new species known from both sexes, C. denticulata 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. (type species), C. penicillus 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., C. setosa 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. and C. unigena 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., and C. neethlingi 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., known only from the male; Falcaranea 𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., represented by three new species known from both sexes, F. amatola 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., F. gladius 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. (type species) and F. maputensis 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃.; and Trachecymbius 𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗻𝗼𝘃., represented by five new species, T. bosselaersi 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. (♀), T. felis 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. (♂♀), T. peterwebbi 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. (♂), T. tyume 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. (type species, ♂♀), and T. umbella 𝘀𝗽. 𝗻𝗼𝘃. (♀). These three genera share the presence of strongly protruding setal bases on the ventral surfaces of the anterior legs, which are more strongly developed in males and can be mistaken for small ventral cusps that are found in several trachelid genera. Identification keys are provided for each of the three genera and their phylogenetic affinities to other Afrotropical Trachelidae are evaluated based on the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene. Most of the species described here were common in canopy fogging samples, and to a lesser extent beating, but are clearly a prominent component of the arboreal trachelid fauna in savanna and forest habitats in southern Africa.