Abstract
Botanical work since 2008 on the Sleeping Giant section of the Kamdebooberge (Sneeuberg mountain complex, Eastern Cape, South Africa) has indicated that these mountains may be of significant conservation value. Accordingly, a precursory, rapid multi-disciplinary biodiversity assessment was undertaken in January 2011, focusing on plants, tetrapod vertebrates and leafhoppers. The botanical results confirm the Kamdebooberge as being of high botanical conservation value, hosting three strict endemics, healthy populations of five other Sneeuberg endemics, and fynbos communities comprising species not found elsewhere in the Sneeuberg. The Kamdebooberge are important for herpetofauna (excluding serpentoids) and mammals, hosting several range-restricted and regional endemics. The expedition uncovered three new leafhopper species, together with several species previously only known from the Cape Floristic Region. Further detailed faunal work may provide further interesting results from these mountains, which show a high conservation value unique to the southern Escarpment.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-1-56) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The Sleeping Giant section of the Kamdebooberge forms the south-western end of the arc-shaped Sneeuberg mountain complex, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa (Figure 1)
Plants As the Kamdebooberge falls into one Quarter Degree Grid Square (3223BD), the intention was not to collect every species encountered, but to rather complement previous comprehensive work done on the adjacent Goewermentsberg since 2008
Apart from these latter specimens, all specimens are lodged in GRA, with duplicates having been sent to the Bolus Herbarium (University of Cape Town, BOL), the National Herbarium of New South Wales (Australia, NSW), the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (K), Missouri Botanical Gardens (MO), the University of Stellenbosch Herbarium (STEU), and the Swedish Museum of Natural History (S)
Summary
The Sleeping Giant section of the Kamdebooberge forms the south-western end of the arc-shaped Sneeuberg mountain complex, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa (Figure 1). Identification of leafhoppers was undertaken by MS at the National Collection of Insects, Biosystematics Division of the Agricultural Research Council, using dissections, published descriptions, and comparing with available described species and undescribed specimens housed in this institution. & V.R.Clark (Stirton et al 2011) – first collected in 2005 in the eastern Sneeuberg – was verified in the field by CHS as being a new species, and a manuscript was prepared on site from the Kamdebooberge specimens.
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