Arachnology is the scientific study of spiders and their kin, with particular emphasis on the identification of new species, the study of their biology and how they interact with their environment. Humans have had a fascination with these organisms since ancient times, with many early societies having myths with prominent spider figures.
J.A. NEETHLING1, 2 & C.R. HADDAD1
1Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300 , South Africa
2Department of Arachnology, National Museum, P.O. Box 266, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. E-mail: ja.neethling@nasmus.co.za
ABSTRACT
The pseudoscorpion family Geogarypidae of South Africa was revised. Prior to this study the family consisted of eight species in two genera (Afrogarypus Beier, 1931 and Geogarypus Chamberlin, 1930).
The next time you are exploring rock pools at the beach, look closely, for among the flashy and larger animals such as sea anemones, mussels, crabs, sea stars and snails, you may see very numerous tiny mites crawling around, ranging from white to bright red in colour.
– the character we all love to hate-
Typecasting is defined as “assigning (an actor or actress) repeatedly to the same type of role, as a result of the appropriateness of their appearance or previous success in such roles.” Some actors, for example, always play the hero in a film, while others are always cast as antagonists. The latter has, unfortunately, been true of our arachnid actors since their earliest days in the film industry.