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Kromelmboogspruit
Kromelmboogspruit (Afrikaans for 'crooked elbow stream') is a tributary of the Vaal River in the Free State (province), Free State, which is part of the Orange River drainage basin. It is found near Heilbron and flows upwards in a north-westerly direction to drain into the Vaal between Parys and Sasolburg. Ecology and water quality In a report from June 2021, South African National Biodiversity Institute, SANBI found the Kromelmboogspruit to be in a "moderately modified ecological condition", and thus of high "ecological importance and sensitivity". The Ecosystem Protection Level and Ecosystem Threat Status is considered critical and poorly protected. In 2019 a surface water assessment was completed for Sasol, where Kromelmboogspruit was found to be within the limits set by the Water Use Licence, a mandatory license if a higher usage of water is required. Fish species found at Kromelmboogspruit Macroinvertebrate families found at Kromelmboogspruit See also * L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaal River
The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its confluence with the Orange River southwest of Kimberley in the Northern Cape. It is long, and forms the border between Mpumalanga, Gauteng and North West Province on its north bank, and the Free State on its south. It is the third largest river in South Africa after the Orange River (2200 km long) and the Limpopo River (1750 km long) and was established as the main source of water for the great Witswatersrand area after the 19th century gold rush. The Vaal Dam lies on the Vaal River in Deneysville just south of the border between Gauteng and the Free State. The Vaal River is the longest river wholly within the borders of South Africa. ''Vaal'' is a Dutch name (later Afrikaans), transla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Labeo Capensis
Orange River mudfish (''Labeo capensis'') is a species of fish in genus ''Labeo''. It inhabits the Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ... system of southern Africa. Size ''L. capensis'' reaches a maximum length of and the SA angling record is . Biology and ecology Occurs in a variety of habitats: quiet well vegetated backwaters, standing open waters, flowing open waters, sandy-rocky stretches and rocky rapids. Their preferred habitat is flowing rocky channels. Bottom feeder which grazes algae and organic detritus. Breeds in summer, gathering in large numbers in shallow rocky rapids where eggs are laid. Larvae hatch after 3 or 4 days. May live up to 8 or 9 years. Range Africa: within the drainage basin of the Orange-Vaal River system to which it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chironomidae
Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid species superficially resemble mosquitoes, they can be distinguished by the absence of wing scales and elongated mouthparts characteristic of the Culicidae (true mosquitoes). The name Chironomidae stems from the Ancient Greek word ''kheironómos'', "a pantomimist". Common names and biodiversity This is a large taxon of insects. Some estimates of the species numbers suggest well over 10,000 world-wide. Males are easily recognized by their plumose antennae. Adults are known by a variety of vague and inconsistent common names, largely by confusion with other insects. For example, chironomids are known as "lake flies" in parts of Canada and Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin, but "bay flies" in the areas near the bay of Green Bay, Wisconsin. They ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corbiculidae
Cyrenidae is a family of clams in the order Venerida Venerida (formerly Veneroida) is an order of mostly saltwater but also some freshwater bivalve molluscs. This order includes many familiar groups such as many clams that are valued for food and a number of freshwater bivalves. Since the 2000s, ....Gofas, S. (2015). Cyrenidae Gray, 1847. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=238370 on 2015-08-26 Genera Genera within this family include: * '' Batissa'' Gray, 1853 * '' Corbicula'' Megerle von Mühlfeld, 1811 * '' Cyanocyclas'' Blainville, 1818 * '' Geloina'' Gray, 1842 * '' Polymesoda'' Rafinesque, 1820 * '' Villorita'' Gray, 1833 ;Taxa brought into synonymy: * †'' Cyrenida'': synonym of ''Corbicula'' Megerle von Mühlfeld, 1811 * Subfamily Polymesodinae Habe, 1977: synonym of Cyrenidae Gray, 1847 References * Bieler R., Carter J.G. & Coan E.V. 2010: Classification of Bivalv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coenagrionidae
Coenagrionidae is a family of damselflies, also known as pond damselflies, in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 species are in this family, making it the largest damselfly family. The family Coenagrionidae has six subfamilies: Agriocnemidinae, Argiinae, Coenagrioninae, Ischnurinae, Leptobasinae, and Pseudagrioninae. This family is referred to as the narrow-winged damselflies or the pond damselflies. The Coenagrionidae enjoy a worldwide distribution, and are among the most common of damselfly families. This family has the smallest of damselfly species. More than 110 genera of the family Coenagrionidae are currently accepted.Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2007)Coenagrionidae retrieved November 4, 2007. Etymology The name may be derived from Greek ''coen'' meaning shared or common and ''agrio'' meaning fields or wild. Characteristics * Usually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culicidae
Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and specialized, highly elongated, piercing-sucking mouthparts. All mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers; females of some species have in addition adapted to drink blood. The group diversified during the Cretaceous period. Evolutionary biology, Evolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micropredators, small animals that Parasitism, parasitise larger ones by drinking their blood without immediately killing them. Parasitology, Medical parasitologists view mosquitoes instead as Disease vector, vectors of disease, carrying protozoan parasites or bacterial or virus, viral pathogens from one Host (biology), host to another. The mosquito life cycle cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceratopogonidae
Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums, sand flies or biting midges, generally in length. The family includes more than 5,000 species, distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic. A 2025 study from Oxford University lists the subspecies Ceratopogonidae midges as "the most widely recognised and best-studied cocoa pollinators." Ceratopogonidae are holometabolous, meaning their development includes four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and imago or adult. Most common species in warmer climates will take about two to six weeks to complete a life cycle. Both adult males and females feed on nectar. Most females also feed on the blood of vertebrates, including humans, to get protein for egg-laying. Their bites are painful, and can cause intensely itchy lesions due to the body producing histamines against the proteins from the midges' saliva. Their mouthparts are well-developed for cutting the skin of their hosts. Some species pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belostomatidae
Belostomatidae is a family of freshwater hemipteran insects known as giant water bugs or colloquially as toe-biters, Indian toe-biters, electric-light bugs (because they fly to lights in large numbers), alligator ticks, or alligator fleas (in Florida). They are the largest insects in the order Hemiptera. There are about 170 species found in freshwater habitats worldwide, with more than 110 in the Neotropics, more than 20 in Africa, almost as many in the Nearctic, and far fewer elsewhere. These predators are typically encountered in freshwater ponds, marshes and slow-flowing streams. Most species are at least long, although smaller species, down to , also exist. The largest are members of the genus '' Lethocerus'', which can exceed and nearly reach the length of some of the largest beetles in the world. Giant water bugs are a popular food in parts of Asia. The oldest fossil member of this family is '' Triassonepa'' from the Late Triassic-aged Cow Branch Formation of Virginia a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baetidae
Baetidae is a family of mayfly, mayflies with about 1000 described species in 110 genera distributed worldwide. These are among the smallest of mayflies, adults rarely exceeding 10 mm in length excluding the two long slender tails and sometimes much smaller, and members of the family are often referred to as small mayflies or small minnow mayflies. Most species have long oval forewings with very few cross veins (see Comstock-Needham system) but the hindwings are usually very small or even absent. The males often have very large insect eye, eyes, shaped like turrets above the head (this is known as "turbinate condition"). Baetids breed in a wide range of waters from lakes and streams to ditches and even rain barrel, water butts. The nymph (biology), nymphs are strong swimmers and feed mainly on algae. Taxonomy The majority of living genera (approximately 95) are placed in the subfamily Baetinae , [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancylidae
Ancylini is a tribe of small, freshwater, air-breathing limpets, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies. This tribe used to be treated as a family; the current taxonomic placement within Planorbidae is according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). Anatomy These animals have a pallial lung, as do all pulmonate snails, but they also have a false gill or " pseudobranch" which can serve perfectly well as a gill in situations where the limpet is unable to reach the surface for air, as is often the case. Genera Genera in the tribe Ancylini include: * ''Ancylus'' Müller, 1773 - type genus * '' Pseudancylus'' * '' Rhodocephala'' * '' Ferrissia'' Walker, 1903 * '' Rhodacmea'' Walker, 1917 * '' Sineancylus'' Gutiérrez Gregoric, 2014 * '' Anisancylus'' Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1924 * '' Burnupia'' Walker, 1912 * '' Gundlachia'' Pfeiffer, 1849 * '' Hebetancylus'' Pilsbry, 1914 * '' Laevapex'' Walker, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeshnidae
Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies, found nearly worldwide, with more than 50 genera and over 450 species. The family includes some of the largest dragonflies. Description Common worldwide or nearly worldwide genera are '' Aeshna'' and '' Anax''. ''Anax'' includes some of the largest dragonflies, including the North American '' A. walsinghami'', Hawaiian '' A. strenuus'', European '' A. imperator'' and '' A. immaculifrons'', and African '' A. tristis'', but these are all exceeded by another member of the family, the Asian '' Tetracanthagyna plagiata'', which by wingspan and weight is the world's largest dragonfly. There are 41 North American species in 11 genera in this family. Most European species belong to ''Aeshna''. Their American name "darner" stems from the female abdomens looking like a sewing needle, as they cut into plant stem when they lay their eggs through the ovipositor. The dragonflies mate in flight. The eggs are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enteromius Anoplus
The chubbyhead barb (''Enteromius anoplus'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the genus ''Enteromius''. The fish is found throughout South Africa in a variety of aquatic environments. The species is notable for its two breeding seasons, which allows it to flourish despite a short lifespan. Identification The females () are larger than males (). They have blunt heads with a small mouth. A few barbels reach down from the mouth. During the breeding season the males are brightly golden coloured, otherwise all the fish are a greyish green on the back with a small spot on the tail fin. Distribution The fish is widespread in rivers from the Highveld down to KwaZulu-Natal, former Transkei and the middle and upper parts of the Orange River. The species is also found in the bigger rivers of the Western and Eastern Cape. Habitat The fish prefers cooler water to live in and occur in a variety of habitats, from large lakes and rivers to small streams. They keep to dark waters whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
