The FBIP Waterberg Biodiversity Project is gaining momentum as the invertebrate and herpetology teams arrived to carry out sampling this week…
Invertebrates
Dr Tharina Bird and Prof Lorenzo Prendini arrived at the Waterberg on Sunday. Dr Bird is the curator of entomology at Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, while Prof Prendini has travelled from afar – he is the curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda at the American Museum of Natural History. The duo will be staying for a week while lodging at various reserves. According to project manager Marilize Greyling, the team will be focusing on arachnids (i.e. scorpions, solifuges, spiders etc.).
Prof. Prendini talking about the identification of male and female scorpions. This is a male. Their bodies are usually more slender than the females. 
Baboon spider 
Scorpion burrow 
Prof Lorenzo Prendini and Dr Tharina Bird collecting arachnids. 
Female scorpion 
Opistophthalmus glabrifrons – shiny burrow scorpion 
Visible gender differences between male and female scorpions are often extremely subtle. This is a male. Other than looking at their body structure is to examine the pectines on the underside of the scorpion. Those of the females are much broader and set further apart. Better to use adult animals to determine their sex.
Reptiles & amphibians
The herpetology team arrived at the Waterberg earlier this week and did their first collections on Tafelkop situated within Lediba and Leobo Private Reserve. Sunday evening the team climbed the western section of the mountain through tough terrain and in the dark, but it was worth the effort and some great specimens were collected…
Striking colours!! 
Flat gecko species. DNA analysis will reveal which species it is. 
Northern pygmy toad (Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti) 
It takes wedging into difficult places, uncomfortable positions and late nights to find the little animals. But well worth the effort. 
Chad Keates with thread snake species. The species will only be able to be verified with the use of a microscope. 
Werner Conradie and Chad Keates trying to coax out a Waterberg dragon lizard. 
Waterberg flat lizard (Platysaurus minor) male 
Werner Conradie (Bayworld Museum) holding a yellow-throated plated Lizard (Gerrhosaurus flavigularis) 
Yellow-throated plated lizard (Gerrhosaurus flavigularis) 
Waterberg girdled lizard (Smaug breyeri) 
Waterberg flat fizard (Platysaurus minor) female
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