Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg, 1867), an adaptable exemplar of an anatomically advanced earthworm having direct fertilisation, is reviewed ecologically. A tropical West African species originating in savannah soils, it thrives on organically rich substrates. It has a rapid life-cycle from cocoon to maturity in as little as 47 days. Presence of this worm raised experimental pasture yields up to 83.9 %. Copious pellet-like casts deposited onto the soil surface are sought by roots. Passage of organic material through its gut reduces microbial pathogens and the resulting vermicompost product has enhanced nutrients, and microbial and enzymatic properties. Preliminary pharmaceutical reports are of inhibition of ‘Golden staph’ Staphylococcus aureus and ‘Thrush’ Candida albicans, plus anti-tumour effects in cancer cell lines. Its handling characteristics make this worm highly suitable for vermiculture with ecological and economic provisioning of: (1) fishing bait or 'seed' cultures, (2) high-protein worm biomass for stock feeds, (3) organic fertiliser, (4) bio-stabilisation of contaminated matrices/fluids, (5) recycling of organic ‘wastes’, (6) carbon sequestration in soil organic matter (SOM, or humus), (7) bio-prospecting for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or 'silk’, and (8) eco-toxicology/ ethology research. New reports are of cultivation in Denmark, South Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Eudrilus eugeniae is figured and its ecological profile, global distribution and taxonomy updated with mtDNA barcodes.

Examining recently collected earthworms from a sugarcane farm in Port Shepstone, South Africa resulted in the discovery of a new species, Geogenia minnehaha sp. n. This species is similar to G. tuberosus (Plisko, 1998) but differs from it by the extended clitellum, the size and position of papillae, and the number and shape of spermathecae. The presence of an indigenous species in a sugarcane field is a new finding in South Africa, where little is known on earthworm communities in agricultural soils.

The female of Symploce digitifera Rehn, 1922 and its ootheca are described and figured for the first time.

The anatomy of Brazilian and African specimens of Pugilina morio, a supposedly amphi-Atlantic species, is described in detail in this paper. Two different entities are recognised. The first is the true Pugilina morio, which is now restricted to the western African coast, from Senegal to Congo. The remaining species is Pugilina tupiniquim sp. n., described herein as the single Brazilian melongenid species known so far, distributed from the Caribbean to Brazil (Pará to Santa Catarina states). The two species showed important anatomical discrepancies, and differ in the position of the tentacles, size of the neck, diameters of the aortas, diameter of the posterior oesophagus, and other features described below. A bursa copulatrix and rachidian teeth bearing a central cusp are both exclusive to P. morio.

A new species of the Afrotropical endemic rhinophorid genus Ventrops is described, illustrated and compared with congeners.

Twenty-five species of Pectinoidea (24 Propeamussiidae, 1 Cyclochlamydidae) are herein listed from the Mozambique Channel, northwestern and southern Madagascar, and northeastern South Africa.

New species: Propeamussium rosadoi, Parvamussium catillus, Parvamussium kilburni, Parvamussium puillandrei, Parvamussium strongae, Cyclopecten cassiculus, Cyclopecten kantori, Cyclochlamys bacachorda.

New synonym: Amussium sewelli Knudsen, 1967 = Propeamussium watsoni (E.A. Smith, 1885).

New records for the Mozambique Channel and northwestern Madagascar: Propeamussium andamanicum, Propeamussium arabicum, Propeamussium caducum, Propeamussium jeffreysii, Propeamussium sibogai, Propeamussium watsoni, Parvamussium formosum, Parvamussium scitulum, Parvamussium torresi, Parvamussium vesiculatum, Cyclopecten kapalae, Similipecten eous.

New records for southern Madagascar: Propeamussium jeffreysii, Propeamussium sibogai, Propeamussium watsoni, Parvamussium formosum, Parvamussium scitulum, Parvamussium thyrideum, Parvamussium vesiculatum, Parvamussium vidalense, Cyclopecten kapalae, Similipecten eous.

New record for South Africa: Propeamussium jeffreysii, Parvamussium formosum, Parvamussium scitulum, Cyclopecten horridus, Similipecten eous.

The third species of the genus Bloszykiella Kontschán, 2010 was found in Kenya in a Pinus radiata D. Don plantation. This is the first record of this genus in this country. The new species is described as Bloszykiella tertia sp. n. from Nyandarua district of Kenya, and differs from the other previously described species in the absence of strongly sclerotised dorsal lines, the shape of the dorsal setae and the type of dorsal ornamentation.

Phytomyza impunita sp. n. is described in the subgenus Ptochomyza Hering. This species is known from a single location in the Republic of South Africa, representing the fifth described species in the subgenus, and the second known Ptochomyza to occur outside of the Palaearctic Region, with P. asparagivora (Spencer) known from southern Europe, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kenya. The new species is described and figured, and discussed in relation to congeners.

No phlebotomine sandflies have ever been recorded in Botswana, southern Africa, although there are several reports from the surrounding countries, namely South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. During a pilot survey in 2014–2015 in Maun, northern Botswana, 41 specimens, belonging to two species and species groups, respectively, were detected: Sergentomyia (Grassomyia) inermis (Theodor) and Se. (Sergentomyia) “bedfordi (Newstead) group”. The latter comprised of specimens resembling Se. (Ser.) congolensis (Bequaert et Walravens), Se. (Ser.) caliginosa (Davidson) and Se. (Ser.) salisburiensis (Abonnenc). None of these species are known to be vectors of human leishmaniasis parasites.

The aim of this study was to use cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) sequences to recover a phylogeny for seven morphologically described spirostreptid millipede taxa from southern Africa, and to evaluate the correspondence between morphological and molecular phylogenies. Genetic p-distance generally increased with taxonomic divergence: inter-specific mean 15.33 % (14.09 % –17.02 %), inter-generic mean 18.43 % (6.83 %–26.81 %) and inter-order mean 24.16 % (range 18.56 %–30.77 %). Congruent Bayesian, maximum parsimony and neighbour-joining analyses of 520 nucleotides of the CO1 gene resolved the orders Spirostreptida, Julida and Callipodida. Members of genera within the Spirostreptidae (Archispirostreptus, Bicoxidens, Cacuminostreptus, Doratogonus, Orthoporoides, Plagiotaphrus and Spirostreptus) formed a single clade within which a sample of Thyropygus (family Harpagophoridae) was paraphyletically nested. Phylogenetic analyses failed to recover support for the genera Doratogonus, Bicoxidens, Archispirostreptus and Spirostreptus, as representatives of these genera were not monophyletic. Samples morphologically identified as the same species (Bicoxidens flavicollis) were part of two different clades, one of which was well supported and otherwise contained members of Doratogonus. This high level of divergence (mean 12.64 %) between morphologically identified spirostreptid millipede sister species could indicate that changes in genital morphology occur rather slowly relative to CO1 sequence substitution, and may underestimate species diversity.

A functional guide for the separation of foreign earthworm taxa (intentionally or coincidentally recorded in South African soils) from native South African taxa is provided. Forty-four earthworm species recorded from South African soils, known as ‘exotics’ or introduced, which were under secondary attention for many years, are placed in the annotated keys. The family characters for the indigenous Acanthodrilinae, Microchaetidae and Tritogeniidae, and generic/specific foreign taxa of the Benhamiinae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae and Ocnerodrilidae are highlighted, keyed and illustrated. An expansive glossary covering terminologies used in earthworm taxonomy is provided and a broad bibliography of South African earthworms is included in the references.

Despite the large diversity of the migratory and resident avifauna of the Arabian Peninsula, relatively few species have been sampled for chewing lice. In this study, three breeding species of Suliformes, Phalacrocorax nigrogularis Ogilvie-Grant & Forbes, Sula dactylatra Lesson and Sula leucogaster (Boddaert) were examined for chewing lice. Four species of chewing lice were identified, two from the suborder Amblycera (Eidmanniella albescens (Piaget, 1880) and Eidmanniella nancyae Ryan & Price, 1969) and two from the suborder Ischnocera (Pectinopygus socotranus Timmermann, 1964 and Pectinopygus sulae (Rudow, 1869)). Diagnostic characters, examined and other known hosts, an identification key, and images of hosts and chewing lice are provided.

Afromosia, a new monotypic genus of Afrotropical Asilidae (Laphriinae; Atomosiini), is described, illustrated and discussed. The type species, A. barkemeyeri sp. n., is recorded only for the West African country of Cameroon. The new taxa are discussed and a key for the separation of Afrotropical Atomosiini is provided.

Most terrestrial isopods are ground-dwelling, scavenging detritivores, and rarely eat live vegetation. Here we report field and laboratory observations of the semi-terrestrial South African isopod, Tylos capensis Krauss, feeding above ground on live green leaves of the bietou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera (L.) Norlindh. The factors involved in the origin of this unusual arboreal feeding behavior are unknown, but we discuss three possible, not mutually exclusive, hypotheses that require testing: (1) Umhlanga beach, South Africa (our study site), provides insufficient detrital food to support the dense populations of T. capensis found in this area, thus causing these animals to seek out other food sources, (2) the relatively palatable and abundant C. monilifera leaves provide an easily accessible and digestible food source, and (3) few competing insect herbivores feed on C. monilifera leaves at Umhlanga beach, thus locally freeing up this resource for T. capensis.

A checklist of Caliscelidae known from Madagascar is provided. Campures pallens gen. n. et sp. n. is described from Toliara Province. Notes on the evolution and biogeography of the family Caliscelidae are given.

The history of taxonomic work undertaken on Afrotropical Philodicus Loew, 1848 is summarised. Details relating to the southern African fauna are provided. Five species occur in the sub-region: P. cinerascens (Ricardo, 1900), P. dubius Ricardo, 1921, P. fraterculus (Walker, 1855), P. swynnertoni Hobby, 1933 and P. tenuipes Loew, 1858. A lectotype and paralectotype are designated for P. dubius. A key to the species is provided along with new illustrations of male terminalia in order to facilitate identification. All known records are provided for these species along with distribution maps and notes on their biology. All species are found near places where free water may be found. All known prey records are provided and discussed, and a strong preference for grasshoppers (Acrididae) is noted.

The Afrotropical species of genus Spheginobaccha are reviewed and a new identification key is provided. Two new species are described: S. stuckenbergi from Madagascar and S. pamela from South Africa.

Earthworms are an important component of southern African invertebrate diversity, due both to their influential roles in soil ecosystems, and the relatively large number of species. As of 2010, there were 282 indigenous earthworm species (most endemic) known to South Africa belonging to three families: Microchaetidae, Tritogeniidae and Acanthodrilidae. In addition, 44 introduced species from six families had been recorded. However, earthworms are rarely included in environmental monitoring or conservation programmes—partly because sampling and species identification are difficult and many sampling methods are destructive and/or toxic. In this paper we review the earthworm sampling techniques most commonly used by screening data from a digitised literature collection on South African earthworms and on-line global searches. By examining a case study sampling of three vegetation types, this paper highlights taxonomic challenges and the effort required to properly curate specimens. The study provides recommendations for future sampling and highlights some key priorities for future work on the group.

From the literature review in early 2012, it is clear that collection techniques are often insufficiently recorded in published work. A total of 10 938 publications from the period 1950 to 2012 were found from the literature search and digitised collection and from these only 32 papers recorded the sampling methodology (mainly hand sorting) for South African research, pointing to the need to adopt standard sampling and reporting protocols. We also tested two of the most popular methodologies in the field. Sampling was conducted in January and February 2012 at four sites, with 24 plots at each site (12 digging and 12 using mustard extraction). A total of 2 094 earthworms collected could be assigned a species name, with introduced species predominating at both disturbed and natural sites. It took a team of three to five people digging and hand collecting all earthworm specimens encountered in a plot of 50 cm × 50 cm × 20 cm deep around 45 to 60 minutes. However, much more time was spent curating and identifying samples. While we recommend following the ISO (ISO11268-3, ISO23611-1) protocol for collecting introduced taxa, to get a complete inventory of South African earthworms a range of sampling techniques will be required; in particular, a large 1 m × 1 m × 20 cm plot is required for many large bodied native taxa, and the collection of giant earthworms will require different approaches. The identification of specimens requires skills that are scarce in the country and so there is an urgent need for training and funding for fundamental work on earthworm taxonomy. An atlasing project could serve as a focal point for future research. In providing some general recommendations based on the long and fruitful history of research on earthworms in South Africa, we are optimistic that a better understanding of the group will help us to both improve our usage of natural resources and provide insights into this vitally important edaphic group.

The hermatypic coral fauna of the Western Indian Ocean is one of the least known globally. This is true of the East African Coast and especially Mozambique, where taxonomic studies are scarce and date mostly from decades ago. The morphology of coral species is subjected to a high level of geographical and environmental variability, which leads to difficulties in field identification and may limit the level of taxonomic resolution at which coral studies can be conducted. Thorough examination of collected specimens can provide more reliable identification of species and more importantly provide a physical record that can be studied further. We collected and identified 32 species of corals from the genus Acropora (Anthozoa: Scleractinia: Acroporidae) of Vamizi Island, northern Mozambique, and present an annotated and illustrated checklist of species. These species records illustrate the high diversity of Acropora in Vamizi, which is comparable to the diversity of this genus in the region. This study can help assess the biodiversity of the region and provides a baseline against which changes can be closely monitored.

A key to the males of Atherigona s. str. species is provided and all species known to occur in South Africa are treated. The number of previously described species known to occur in South Africa is increased to 43 from the approximate previous 35, and an additional 25 new species: A. albicornis sp. n., A. capitulata sp. n., A. chrysohypene sp. n., A. convexa sp. n., A. danielssoni sp. n., A. erectisetula sp. n., A. flavifinis sp. n., A. flaviheteropalpata sp. n., A. heteropalpata sp. n., A. kirkspriggsi sp. n., A. latibasilaris sp. n., A. libertensis sp. n., A. londti sp. n., A. ndumoensis sp. n., A. nesshurstensis sp. n., A. oblonga sp. n., A. parviclivis sp. n., A. parvihumilata sp. n., A. piscatoris sp. n., A. rimapicis sp. n., A. stuckenbergi sp. n., A. tigris sp. n., A. umbonata sp. n., A. vernoni sp. n. and A. zulu sp. n. are described. A. hancocki van Emden, 1940 is designated as junior synonym to A. divergens Stein, 1913.