New records of 43 spider species from the Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa (Arachnida: Araneae)

Abstract

This study forms part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), initiated in 1997 with the main aim to create an inventory of the arachnid fauna of South Africa (Dippenaar-Schoeman & Craemer 2000). One of the objectives of SANSA is to assess the number of arachnid species presently protected in conserved areas in the country. Check lists of spiders are now available for three national parks, three nature reserves and a conservancy. These areas include: Mountain Zebra National Park (Dippenaar-Schoeman 1988); Karoo National Park (Dippenaar-Schoeman et al. 1999); Kruger National Park (Dippenaar- Schoeman & Leroy 2002); Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve (Dippenaar-Schoeman et al. 1989); Makelali Nature Reserve (Whitmore et al. 2001, 2002); Swartberg Nature Reserve (Dippenaar-Schoeman et al. 2005); and the Soutpansberg Conservancy (Foord et al. 2002).