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· Invertebrates
comprise 95% of biological diversity. However, they are poorly known
and understood, and in fact less than half the invertebrate species
in South Africa are officially named. Even more horrifying, every
day invertebrate species are going extinct without us even knowing
about them. This project aims to list those South African invertebrate
species that are most likely to go extinct in the near future. This
list will empower conservation agencies and decision-makers with
information with which to make sensible and sustainable land-use
and development decisions.
·
This
website provides a searchable, interactive database of threatened
invertebrate species in South Africa. Information on distribution,
identification, threats and threat status (IUCN category) and, where
available, basic biology is included for each species. The database
can be searched at various taxonomic levels, or by locality at provincial
or district level.
·
Taxon experts are continuously adding to or altering the species
listed as more species become included in the IUCN Global Red List
(www.redlist.org), as threat status changes, or as more data
on distribution and biology become available.
·
All species included in the database have been, or are in the process
of being listed on the IUCN Red List though the Southern African
Invertebrate Specialist Group. The stage at which a particular species
is at in the Red Listing process is detailed under the "status"
column of the database.
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It
must be recognised that the list is incomplete - there are about
80 000 known invertebrate species in South Africa - evaluating all
of these is impossible.
·
Many invertebrate species are extremely difficult to identify based
only on gross morphology. The identification section of the database
can serve as a guide, but in most cases experts will need to be
consulted for confirmation of species identifications. Expert contact
details are available in the database.
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Address queries or comments to Michelle Hamer at hamerm@ukzn.ac.za
Funding
for the project is provided by The Green Trust, an associated trust
of WWF-SA in partnership with Nedbank Green.
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