Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Part of Periodical (16)
- Article (14)
- Doctoral Thesis (2)
- Report (1)
- Working Paper (1)
Has Fulltext
- yes (34)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (34)
Keywords
- Africa (34) (remove)
Institute
Although throughout the history of anthropology the ethnography of urban societies was never an important topic, investigations on cities in Africa contributed to the early theoretical development of urban studies in social sciences. As the ethnography of rural migrants in towns made clear, cultural diversity and creativity are foundational and permanent elements of urban cultures in Africa (and beyond). Currently, two new aspects complement these insights: 1) Different forms of mobility have received a new awareness through the concept of transnationalism. They are much more complex, including not only rural–urban migration, but also urban–urban migration, and migrations with a destination beyond the continent. 2) Urban life-worlds also include the appropriation of globally circulating images and lifestyles, which contribute substantially to the current cultural dynamics of cities in Africa. These two aspects are the reasons for the high complexity of urban contexts in Africa. Therefore, whether it is still appropriate to speak about the “locality” of these life-worlds has become questionable. At the same time, these new aspects explain the self-consciousness of members of urban cultures in Africa. They contribute to the expansive character of these societies and to the impression that cities in Africa host the most innovative and creative societies worldwide.
The taxonomic status of the widely distributed freshwater crab Potamonautes lirrangensis (Rathbun, 1904) sensu lato is revised because morphological and molecular evidence indicates that this taxon is a complex comprising more than one species. Four taxa are now recognized: Potamonautes lirrangensis (Rathbun, 1904) s. str. and P. kisangani sp. nov. from the Middle Congo River in Central Africa, P. amosae sp. nov. from the drainages of Lakes Kivu and Tanganyika, and P. orbitospinus (Cunnington, 1907) from Lake Malawi which had been previously synonymised with P. lirrangensis s. lat. Diagnoses, illustrations and distribution maps are provided for each of these taxa and they are compared to similar species from Central and Southern Africa.
Adults of three known species of Ochodaeus Dejean (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Ochodaeidae) in Madagascar have a strongly granulate pronotum. Three new species are described herein that have a smooth or weakly granulate pronotum: Ochodaeus modopunctatus, O. polypollicatus, and O. meandrus. A key to the species of Ochodaeus from Madagascar is provided.
Chigger mites of the African continent are reviewed using data acquired from the literature and examination of the collections deposited at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium) and the Natural History Museum (London, UK). All findings for 443 valid chigger species belonging to 61 genera are reported, along with details on their collection locality and host species. Three new synonyms are proposed: Straelensia Vercammen-Grandjean & Kolebinova, 1968 (= Anasuscuta Brown, 2009 syn. nov.); Herpetacarus (Herpetacarus) Vercammen-Grandjean, 1960 (= Herpetacarus (Lukoschuskaaia) Kolebinova & Vercammen-Grandjean, 1980 syn. nov.); Gahrliepia brennani (Jadin & Vercammen-Grandjean, 1952) (= Gahrliepia traubi Audy, Lawrence & Vercammen-Grandjean, 1961 syn. nov.). A new replacement name is proposed: Microtrombicula squirreli Stekolnikov, 2017 nom. nov. pro Eltonella myonacis heliosciuri Vercammen-Grandjean, 1965 (praeocc. Vercammen-Grandjean, 1965). Ninety new combinations are proposed. Keys to subfamilies, genera and subgenera of African trombiculid larvae and diagnoses of these taxa are given.
Streblopus Van Lansberge, 1874 has been one of the most mysterious dung beetle groups of the Neotropical fauna, having a rather peculiar morphology, very few known specimens in collections and a difficult placement among the scarabaeine lineages. In this work, based on the examination of a recently collected series of specimens and a synthesis of some scattered, but deeply valuable, information available in the literature, we readdress many of the questions posed by past authors. It is shown that Streblopus is a relict genus composed of two currently living species of widely disjunct distribution, namely S. opatroides Van Lansberge, 1874, from patches of Atlantic Forest in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Espírito Santo, and S. punctatus (Balthasar, 1938), known from a few localities across Sub-Andean humid forests in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon Forest. We redescribe both and present in detail the evidence pointing to their validity as two independent species; a discussion of their remarkable sexual dimorphism is also given. The biogeography of Streblopus in South America is addressed, and we conclude that the present disjunct distribution of the genus is a consequence of the retreat of the tropical forest corridors that once connected the Atlantic Forest to the Amazon Basin through the South American Dry Diagonal during several periods of the Neogene, particularly until the Middle Miocene. Finally, we propose an African origin for the genus based on its close phylogenetic relationship with a group of Old World taxa ‒ particularly Circellium Latreille, 1825 and Scarabaeini. Having diverged from those groups in the late Upper Cretaceous, we argue that the ancestor of Streblopus arrived in South America crossing the Atlantic Ocean by rafting. We present a synthesis of data from a wide variety of biological groups to support our ideas and contend that long-distance dispersal hypotheses should be taken more seriously by scarab beetle specialists.
Die Dissertation befasste sich mit der endsteinzeitlichen und früheisenzeitlichen Besiedlungsgeschichte des südwestlichen Tschadbeckens (NO-Nigerias) mit einem Schwerpunkt auf dem Übergang zwischen beiden Perioden. Neben einer Ãœbersicht über die geborgenen Funde und die dokumentierten Befunde aus Grabungsarbeiten an sieben Fundstellen wurde eine Sequenz der Keramikmerkmale vorgelegt. Unter anderem verdeutlichte sie die Gegensätze der endsteinzeitlichen und füheisenzeitlichen Keramiktraditionen im Arbeitsgebiet. Der Schwerpunkt der Studien lag auf der Präsentation von Ergebnissen archäologischer und geophysikalischer Untersuchungen des Fundplatzes Zilum, datiert in die Mitte des ersten Jahrtausends BC. Zilum ist wegen seines Alters, seiner Dimension und seiner strukturellen Komplexität von zentraler Bedeutung für die Archäologie der Region um den Tschadsee und für Afrika südlich der Sahara im Allgemeinen. Zusammen mit jenen Siedlungen, die nach dieser entstanden, bietet der Fundplatz einen guten Ansatz zur Beantwortung der Frage, wie sich der Übergang von der Steinzeit zur Eisenzeit im Untersuchungsraum vollzog. Er gibt zudem einen Einblick in die Entstehung früher, strukturell und sozioökonomisch komplexerer Siedlungsformen in Afrika südlich der Sahara, und so wird seine Bedeutung für die Archäologie und Geschichte eingehender diskutiert. Aus der Kombination vorhandener und neu gesammelter Informationen zur Siedlungs- und Wirtschaftsweise mit bereits verfügbaren Daten zur Entwicklung von Klima und Umwelt im Tschadbecken wurde ein Abriss der endsteinzeitlichen und früheisenzeitlichen Besiedlungsgeschichte im Untersuchungsraum erarbeitet.
A synthesis of the Phaeogenini occurring in the Afrotropical region is provided. Three species are newly described: Centeterichneumon nambi Dal Pos, Diller & Di Giovanni sp. nov. from Uganda, Chauvinia ganota Claridge sp. nov. from Kenya, and Kibalus nonnaritae Dal Pos & Di Giovanni sp. nov. from Uganda. Heterischnus mfongosi Rousse & van Noort, 2013 is newly recorded for Kenya and Tanzania and the male of the species is diagnosed for the first time. Also, the female of Arearia oxymoron Rousse & van Noort, 2013 is diagnosed for the first time from one of the paratype localities. Lusius tenuissimus (Heinrich, 1938) and Chauvinia nyanga Rousse & van Noort, 2013 are recorded for the first time for Uganda and Kenya, respectively. In addition, new localities are given for Chauvinia nitida (Heinrich, 1938), Heterischnus olsoufieffi (Heinrich, 1938) and Hoplophaeogenes curticornis Heinrich, 1938. A new combination, Nesostenodontus mkomazi (Rousse & van Noort, 2013) comb. nov., is proposed to accommodate Heterischnus mkomazi. An updated key to the Afrotropical genera of Phaeogenini and keys to the Afrotropical species of the genera Arearia Seyrig, Centeterichneumon Heinrich, Chauvinia Heinrich, Heterischnus Heinrich, Hoplophaeogenes Heinrich, Kibalus Rousse, van Noort & Diller, and Lusius Tosquinet are provided. Updated online Lucid keys to genera and species are available from http://www.waspweb.org.
Species identification of adult African blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of forensic importance
(2017)
Necrophagous blowflies can provide an excellent source of evidence for forensic entomologists and are also relevant to problems in public health, medicine, and animal health. However, access to useful information about these blowflies is constrained by the need to correctly identify the flies, and the poor availability of reliable, accessible identification tools is a serious obstacle to the development of forensic entomology in the majority of African countries. In response to this need, a high-quality key to the adults of all species of forensically relevant blowflies of Africa has been prepared, drawing on high-quality entomological materials and modern focus-stacking photomicroscopy. This new key can be easily applied by investigators inexperienced in the taxonomy of blowflies and is made available through a highly accessible online platform. Problematic diagnostic characters used in previous keys are discussed.
The genera Colpixys and Xiphentedon are revised. Both genera are of Afrotropical distribution and are very similar to Entedon, but distinguished by a median strip or furrow on the propodeum replacing the median carina of Entedon. The genus Xiphentedon is characterized by the complete lateral propodeal sulci delimiting convex submedian areas, prosternum with a flange, axillula with indentate projection, and densely hairy central mesopectus. The subgenus Cederholmia Gumovsky, 1997 of Entedon is considered a junior synonym of Xiphentedon, so two of its species are moved to the genus as X. halli (Gumovsky, 1997) comb. nov. and X. danielssoni (Gumovsky, 1997) comb. nov. The genus Colpixys is characterized by the lack of characters of Xiphentedon, but also by the broadly sculptured propodeum with the deep median furrow delimited laterally by two sinuous margins. Three (one new) species are recognized in Colpixys and sixteen (thirteen new) species allocated to three groups (kayovei, danielssoni and forceps), are assigned to Xiphentedon. The new species are: Colpixys eburnus sp. nov. from Ivory Coast and the Republic of South Africa (RSA), Xiphentedon neserorum sp. nov. from RSA, X. simoni sp. nov. from Tanzania, X. dewittei sp. nov. and X. musimba sp. nov. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), X. jeanyvesi sp. nov. from Tanzania, the Central African Republic (CAR) and RSA, X. wieringai sp. nov. from Gabon and Ivory Coast, X. kivuensis sp. nov. from DRC, X. palabora sp. nov. from RSA, X. sangha sp. nov. from CAR, X. nimba sp. nov. from Guinea, X. forceps sp. nov. from Ivory Coast, Benin and RSA, X. gerardi sp. nov. from Benin, DRC and RSA, and X. acutigena sp. nov. from Ivory Coast, DRC, Tanzania and RSA. Morphological peculiarities and possible relationships of Colpixys, Xiphentedon, Entedon and some other genera, are discussed.