Austrobatrachus iselesele, a new toadfish species from South Africa (Teleostei: Batrachoididae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3400 (1) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID W. GREENFIELD

The second known species in the genus Austrobatrachus is described from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its live color-ation is very different from the other known species, A. foedus, having many black spots on the body and solid colored fins. It also has a longer snout and larger eye. The species lives in holes in the reef at depths of 49–50 m.

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Bernice Stott

This study will investigate and critically evaluate the reconstitution of African women’s spiritualities in the context of the Amazwi Abesifazane project. This project forms part of the endeavours of Create Africa South, a Non Governmental Organisation situated in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, which was initiated by the artist Andries Botha. It encourages women, post trauma, to ‘re-member’ themselves by creating memory cloths of embroidery and appliqué reflecting on their experiences in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa. This interdisciplinary study theorises that it is an archive that speaks about African women resisting destructive forces and reconstituting their spiritualities through the therapeutic effects of creativity. The study will not include research into the many other activities undertaken by Create Africa South. Rupture is implied in the use of the word ‘reconstitution’. Reconstitution encompasses the act of constituting again the character of the body, mind and spirit as regards health, strength and well-being of the women (McIntosh, 1970:261). In this study, spirituality is defined as the way in which the women in the Amazwi Abesifazane project reflect upon and live out their belief in God. The power of storytelling is examined from the perspectives of narratology, narrative therapy, sewing and orality/literary studies as resources for the women’s reclamation of their lives. Defining feminisms in South Africa is problematised by issues of race, class and culture. In a context of poverty, everyday survivalist strategies are the diverse forms of resistance seen in the Amazwi Abesifazane project. The women’s stories, cloths and interviews are triangulated as primary data. They are examples of the rich art of resistance against despair and are located in a paradigm of hope. In conclusion, I strongly call for government support in declaring the project a national archive. The multidimensional mediums of the Amazwi Abesifazane/ UbuMama projects nurture the women’s creativity and revitalise their spiritualities towards personal and national transformation.


Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Peté ◽  
Angela Crocker

In a recent two-part article in this journal, the authors of this note analysed the controversy surrounding the ritual bull-killing which takes place during the Ukweshwama “first fruits” ceremony held each year in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. While much of the Ukweshwama ceremony is uncontroversial, the ritual killing of a bull by young Zulu warriors with their bare hands attracted strong opposition from certain animal-rights groups, which resulted in legal action and public controversy. The authors attempted to disentangle the different legal, historical, political and philosophical strands which combined to make up a complex story about the place of ancient rituals in the modern world, particularly those involving animal sacrifice. They also attempted to situate the controversy around the Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual within a contemporary global context, by comparing and contrasting the Zulu bull-killing ceremony on the one hand, and Spanish bullfighting on the other. The purpose of the present note is to report on recent developments in what is a global debate on the place of ancient rituals which involve the ritual killing of animals, within modern constitutional democracies. In particular, this note will examine and discuss the outcome of a recent legal challenge brought before the Constitutional Council of the Republic of France by certain animal-welfare groups in that country. The challenge was directed at bringing an end to a legal exception which operates in certain parts of the country – that is, those with an uninterrupted local tradition of bullfighting – excluding bullfighting from the provisions of animal-welfare legislation. The legal, political and cultural issues which arise as a result of this legal challenge are of relevance to those in South Africa who are concerned, one way or the other, about the future of the annual Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual in KwaZulu-Natal. Like it or not, although the bull-killing rituals which take place in the South of France and in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa are very different, the similarities between the rituals and their impact on broader society (legally, politically and culturally), are such that they cannot be ignored. The authors make a similar point in relation to the links between Spanish bullfighting and the Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual.


2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith M Little ◽  
Robin AW Gardner

In the 1980s, Eucalyptus macarthurii and E. nitens were planted in the colder, higher altitude areas of South Africa to meet the increased demand for pulpwood. To find possible alternatives, six site × species interaction trials were planted in 1990–1991. Based on volume performance and pulping properties, E. badjensis, E. benthamii, E. oreades, E. nobilis, E. smithii, and E. fraxinoides were identified as having good commercial potential. Although the performance of the parent crop is important, the ability to coppice is advantageous because of lower reestablishment costs. To determine this, the ability for these species to coppice was assessed at 10 months after felling at two of the trial sites with widely different growing conditions (Broadholms in Mpumalanga province and Draycott in KwaZulu-Natal province). More than 80% of the living stumps of E. benthamii, E. smithii, E. quadrangulata, E. macarthurii, E. badjensis, E. dunnii, E. cypellocarpa, E. saligna, and E. elata had coppiced at both sites. At Draycott, an exposed, dry site, both E. smithii and E. benthamii could be considered as potential alternative species to E. nitens, because besides having good volume, both species coppiced well. At Broadholms, a more protected and slightly wetter site, the significantly better volume of E. fraxinoides (which did not coppice well) when compared with the other species would mean that a substantial saving in reestablishment costs via coppice regeneration would have to be made before one could consider this method of reestablishment.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Jithoo ◽  
P V Govender ◽  
P Corr ◽  
N Nathoo

We carried out a retrospective analysis of all emergency referrals to the neurosurgery department of the Wentworth Hospital from 1996 to 1999. The hospital provided a service to seven peripheral hospitals with computerized tomography (CT) scanners and 46 hospitals without, in the province of KwaZulu Natal. By the end of the study, six of the hospitals with CT scanners had facilities for teleradiology and the mean patient return rate had fallen to 17%. In comparison, almost half the patients seen from the hospitals with no CT scanners were returned to hospital after assessment at the Wentworth Hospital. We also carried out a prospective analysis of 100 consecutive teleradiology-assisted consultations from January to March 2000. Of the 57 patients (79%) who remained at their referral hospitals, 45 had a good outcome, while the other 12 (21%) patients had a poor outcome. The implementation of teleradiology-assisted consultation decreased the number of inappropriate inter-hospital transfers while maintaining appropriate patient care and improving outcome.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jamie Sarah Robbertze

The focus of the chiropractic profession is to diagnose, treat and prevent mechanical disorders which affect the neuromusculoskeletal system of the body. Chiropractic is a young profession in South Africa as law only recognized chiropractors as recently as 1971. As a result, perceptions of chiropractic are continually evolving as it gains popularity among the public. Despite its growth to date, further expansion of the profession may be limited due to its isolation from the public health care system of South Africa. This study aimed to determine the demographics, perceptions, expectations and experiences of first time chiropractic patients who consulted chiropractic students at a teaching clinic in KwaZulu-Natal. This information may allow identification of requirements for improved clinical outcomes of first time chiropractic patients and clinical practice of chiropractors and the chiropractic profession. This qualitative study utilized an exploratory and descriptive design. This methodology was chosen for its potential to reveal a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of chiropractic. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with fourteen first time chiropractic patients who presented to the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Chiropractic Day Clinic (CDC). Interviews were voice recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed which resulted in eight themes with numerous subthemes. These were explored and demographic characteristics of participants were determined to fulfil the objectives of the study. Eight participants were male and six were female. Most were aged in their thirties, forties or fifties. With regards to population groups, six participants were Black/African, three were Indian, three were Coloured and two were White. Half the participants had medical aid and most were professionals, technicians and associate professionals and services and sales workers. The understanding of chiropractic and chiropractic care theme revealed a limited awareness and understanding of chiropractic, perceptions of the chiropractic scope of practice and beliefs regarding chiropractic care for special population groups. The care-seeking influential factors theme indicated that the reasons chiropractic care was sought were: soreness, trusted suggestions and unsuitable alternative care options. The experience anticipations theme showed that some participants had indistinct ideas prior to their experiences while others had conceived expectations for the chiropractic care. The consultation outcomes theme indicated expectations for improvement in presenting complaints as well as occurrence of adverse reactions. The origins of beliefs theme revealed that perceptions and expectations of chiropractic were formed from accessible information as well as the first time chiropractic consultation experience. Professional and unprofessional aspects of the DUT CDC environment were discussed in the first impressions theme. The chiropractic care theme explored experiences of the thorough and detailed examination, feelings of fear and apprehension and trust and comfort, patient centered care, effectiveness of the treatment and pain and adverse effects. The last theme, experience reflections, demonstrates the extent to which expectations were met, aspects of the experience which could be improved and desires to return to and recommend the DUT CDC to others.


2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Andrea Aracil ◽  
Celeste Pérez-Bañón ◽  
Ximo Mengual ◽  
Snežana Radenković ◽  
Gunilla Ståhls ◽  
...  

Pre-imaginal morphology of the flower fly species Graptomyzasignata (Walker) is described and figured in detail based on specimens collected on a decomposed Aloe-like plant in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Third-instar larva is described for the first time and the puparium morphology is re-described using both light (optical) and electron microscopy. The present work represents the second larval description for a species of the genus Graptomyza, after the description of the larva of G.alabeta Séguy. The immatures of these two Graptomyza species were examined and compared to the pre-imaginal stages of the other members of the tribe Volucellini, pointing out the possible diagnostic characters of the genus Graptomyza. Moreover, new DNA barcodes are provided for G.signata and deposited in the NCBI GenBank.


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1894 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
KERRY A. HADFIELD ◽  
NICO J. SMIT ◽  
ANNEMARIÉ AVENANT-OLDEWAGE

The larvae of gnathiid isopods are known to parasitise a large variety of intertidal fish worldwide. In South Africa, the larvae of Gnathia africana Barnard, 1914, have been recorded from various intertidal fish hosts along the cold West and South Coasts. The warmer East Coast, however, has not previously been sampled for gnathiids. From March 2006 to February 2007, intertidal fishes were collected on the East Coast using hand held nets and kept in aerated tanks until the gnathiids completed their feeding. Once fed, the gnathiids were kept alive in 50 ml bottles with fresh sea water till moulting occurred. Results indicated that all the East Coast intertidal gnathiids were from the same species and new to science, and subsequently described as Gnathia pilosus sp. nov. The G. pilosus male and female can be clearly distinguished from other South African species in having numerous tubercles and setae covering the cephalosome and pereon which are not as pronounced in the other species. The G. pilosus larva can also be distinguished from the other South African species by the triangular-shaped cephalosome and numerous sensory pits covering the body.


1892 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 307-308
Author(s):  
G. H. French

Three days before that last moult, the larva is 1.30 inches; after the last moult and three days before pupating, 2 inches. Nearly cylindrical, tapering from the middle to both ends, the under side a little flattened, a slight fold above the legs but no fringe on the sides. The markings in the two last stages are the same, except that the orange is a little heavier in the last stage. The ground colour of dorsum, sides except below stigmata, and venter sordid white, below stigmata clear white; striped transversely over the back as low as the stigmata, thus leaving a clear white substigmatal stripe, eight of these stripes and these somewhat double, some broken and others partly continuous; a subdorsal and substigmatal row of orange patches, two of each row on each joint, the lower of each side of the stigma on the anterior part of the body, but on the posterior part these patches connect above the stigma, gradually passing from one from to the other; on joint two, instead of two pathces, the anterior half of the joint is orange with a row of black spots; joints three and four with an irregular row of orange across near the middle of the joint.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz F. C. Tencatt ◽  
Cláudio H. Zawadzki ◽  
Otávio Froehlich

Hypostomus cochliodon group is a monophyletic clade of 20 valid species of Neotropical armored catfishes that is widely distributed throughout South America. Recently, specimens identified as H. cochliodon from the type locality and nearby localities were examined, and found to include representatives of more than one species. A redescription of H. cochliodon is provided, with a description of two new species, one from the Bodoquena Plateau and another from several localities of the rio Paraguay basin. A lectotype for H. cochliodon is designated herein, since the previous designation is invalid. Hypostomus cochliodon is diagnosed from all other species of the H. cochliodon group by having the opercle almost completely covered laterally by thick layer of skin, the absence of buccal papilla, weak to moderately developed keels on the lateral plates of the body and by the color pattern of its body and fins. Hypostomus basilisko, new species, is distinguished from the remaining species of the H. cochliodon group by the absence of spots on the body, highly developed keels and spoon-shaped teeth. Hypostomus khimaera, new species, is distinguished from the other species of the H. cochliodon group by having a dark tan stripe along the midline of the flank, black spots on the body and/or fins and teeth with mesial cusp and not spoon-shaped.


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