Biodiversity of Cape Town
Floristic region (phytochorion)
The city of Cape Town lies within the Cape Floristic Kingdom (by far the smallest and most diverse of the earth’s 6 floristic kingdoms). [1]
Vegetation types
Cape Town is located within a CI Biodiversity hotspot and is home to a total of 19 different and distinct vegetation types. (This enormous variety is mainly because the city is uniquely located at the convergence point of a great many different soil types and micro-climates.) These 19 vegetation types are mostly restricted to unusually small areas, and several are completely endemic to the city – occurring nowhere else in the world.
Vegetation types in Cape Town
[2][3]
Endemism
Of the thousands of plant species that are indigenous to Cape Town, 190 are known to be endemic to the city - occurring nowhere else in the world. In addition, there are over a hundred animal species that are also restricted to the city. [4]
Species records on South African Biodiversity Database
List of reptiles present in Cape Town
[10]
- Updated from South African Biodiversity Database (http://www.biodiversity.co.za/) as species present in Cape Town on 2011/01/06
- Acontias meleagris (Cape Legless Skink)
- Acontias meleagris meleagris (Cape Legless Skink)
- Acontias meleagris orientalis (Cape Legless Skink)
- Afrogecko porphyreus (Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko, Marbled Leaftoed Gecko)
- Agama atra (Southern Rock Agama)
- Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus (Coral Snake)
- Bitis arietans (Puff Adder, Puffadder)
- Bitis arietans arietans (Puff Adder)
- Bitis atropos (Berg Adder)
- Bradypodion pumilum (Cape Dwarf Chameleon)
- Chamaesaura anguina (Cape Grass Lizard)
- Chersina angulata (Angulate Tortoise)
- Cordylus cordylus (Cape Girdled Lizard)
- Cordylus niger (Black Girdled Lizard)
- Cordylus polyzonus (Karoo Girdled Lizard)
- Dasypeltis scabra (Common Eggeater)
- Dispholidus typus (Boomslang)
- Duberria lutrix (Common Slug Eater)
- Duberria lutrix lutrix (Common Slugeater)
- Geochelone pardalis (Leopard Tortoise)
- Goggia lineata (Striped Dwarf Leaf-toed Gecko, Striped Dwarf Leaftoed Gecko)
- Hemachatus haemachatus (Rinkhals)
- Homopus areolatus (Parrot-beaked Tortoise, Parrotbeaked Tortoise)
- Homoroselaps lacteus (Spotted Harlequin Snake)
- Lamprophis aurora (Aurora House Snake)
- Lamprophis capensis (Brown House Snake)
- Lamprophis guttatus (Spotted House Snake)
- Lamprophis inornatus (Olive House Snake)
- Leptotyphlops longicaudus (Long-tailed Thread Snake, Longtailed Thread Snake)
- Lycodonomorphus rufulus (Common Brown Water Snake)
- Meroles knoxii (Knox's Desert Lizard)
- Naja nivea (Cape Cobra)
- Pachydactylus austeni (Austen's Thick-toed Gecko, Austen's Thicktoed Gecko)
- Pachydactylus geitje (Ocellated Thick-toed Gecko, Ocellated Thicktoed Gecko)
- Pachydactylus labialis (Western Cape Thick-toed Gecko, Western Cape Thicktoed Gecko)
- Pedioplanis lineoocellata (Spotted Sand Lizard)
- Pelomedusa subrufa (Marsh Terrapin)
- Psammophis crucifer (Cross-marked Grass Snake, Crossmarked Grass Snake)
- Psammophis leightoni (Cape Sand Snake)
- Psammophis notostictus (Karoo Sand Snake)
- Psammophylax rhombeatus (Rhombic Skaapsteker)
- Pseudaspis cana (Mole Snake)
- Pseudocordylus microlepidotus (Cape Crag Lizard)
- Ramphotyphlops braminus (Flower-pot Snake, Flowerpot Snake)
- Rhinotyphlops lalandei (Delalande's Beaked Blind Snake, Delalande’s Blind Snake)
- Scelotes bipes (Silvery Dwarf Burrowing Skink)
- Scelotes montispectus (Blaauwberg Dwarf Burrowing Skink)
- Tetradactylus seps (Short-legged Seps, Shortlegged Seps)
- Tetradactylus tetradactylus (Common Long-tailed Seps, Common Longtailed Seps)
- Trachylepis capensis (Cape Skink)
- Trachylepis homalocephala (Red-sided Skink, Redsided Skink)
- Typhlosaurus aurantiacus (Golden Blind Legless Skink)
- Typhlosaurus caecus (Cuvier's Blind Legless Skink)
List of amphibians present in Cape Town
[10]
- Updated from South African Biodiversity Database (http://www.biodiversity.co.za/) as species present in Cape Town on 2011/01/06
List of insects recorded in Cape Town
[10]
- Updated from South African Biodiversity Database (http://www.biodiversity.co.za/) as species recorded in Cape Town by 2011/01/06
See also
References
- ^ "Environmental Resource Management in the city of Cape Town". http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/environmentalresourcemanagement/Pages/default.aspx.
- ^ http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/stats/Documents/Vegetation%20Types.mht
- ^ http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/stats/Pages/VegetationTypes.aspx
- ^ "Endemic Species of the city of Cape Town". http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagement/publications/Documents/Biodiv_fact_sheet_7_endemic_species_2010-06.pdf.
- ^ http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagement/publications/Pages/BrochuresBooklets.aspx
- ^ http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagement/publications/Documents/Biodiv_fact_sheet_suppl_Endemic_spp_list_2010-03.pdf
- ^ A.B. Low & A.G. Rebelo (eds). Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland, a companion to the vegetation map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Dept Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria. 85pp. ISBN 0-621-17316-9.
- ^ A.G. Rebelo, C. Boucher, N. Helme, L. Mucina, M.C. Rutherford et al. 2006. Fynbos Biome, in: L. Mucina & M.C. Rutherford (eds). The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19, pp 52‐219.
- ^ Anthony G. Rebelo, Patricia M. Holmes, Clifford Dorse & Julia Wood. Cape Town: Averting a Biodiversity Megadisaster? Unpublished MS.
- ^ a b c d e f http://www.biodiversity.co.za/