Abstract
Background: The north-eastern mountainous region of South Africa has been identified as a spider diversity hotspot and centre of endemisim. The Blouberg is an isolated inselberg that forms part of the Soutpansberg geological complex, the northernmost mountain in South Africa.Objectives: This article provides an updated species list of the Blouberg spiders, which includes details of the distribution patterns and conservation statuses of all taxa. Exotic species and species of special conservation concern are identified.Method: Surveys were conducted between 2005 and 2012, and a range of collecting methods were used to sample both the ground and field layers.Results: A total of 47 families were sampled in 210 genera and 346 species. The families of Salticidae (45 spp.), Gnaphosidae (32 spp.), Thomisidae (31 spp.), Araneidae (26 spp.) and Lycosidae (24 spp.) were the most diverse. Five species are of conservation concern, one species is Vulnerable, one is possibly exotic and 62 species are South African endemics.Conclusion: Presently, 17% of South African species are protected on the mountain and its surrounding foothills. The latter are of particular conservation concern, while the mountaintop and its associated habitats are under-sampled.
Highlights
The Blouberg (BB) is an inselberg that is geologically related, but geomorphically distinct from Soutpansberg (SPB), separated from it by a plain of approximately 15 km (Hahn 2011)
Within the ambit of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) (DippenaarSchoeman et al 2015), the current study presents the sampling in the BB, listing the global distribution, endemicity and conservation profile for each species
A total of 47 families represented by 216 genera and 346 species have been recorded from the BB (Tables 2 and Appendix 1)
Summary
The Blouberg (BB) is an inselberg that is geologically related, but geomorphically distinct from Soutpansberg (SPB), separated from it by a plain of approximately 15 km (Hahn 2011). The spiders of the SPB are relatively well known and very diverse, with > 600 species and 13 endemic taxa (Foord, Dippenaar-Schoeman & Stam 2013). Previous surveys of the mountain were restricted to the Blouberg Nature Reserve on the north-eastern foothills of the mountain (Muelelwa et al 2010), while the mountain massif itself has been neglected with no known records. The north-eastern mountainous region of South Africa has been identified as a spider diversity hotspot and centre of endemisim. The Blouberg is an isolated inselberg that forms part of the Soutpansberg geological complex, the northernmost mountain in South Africa
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