Die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Opname van Arachnida (SANSA) is in 1997 deur die
Landbounavorsingsraad (LNR) geïnisieer met die primêre doelwit om die Arachnidafauna
van Suid-Afrika op nasionale vlak te dokumenteer. Tydens die tweede fase van die projek,
genaamd SANSA II, het die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Biodiversiteitsinstituut (SANBI) deur
hul program vir bedreigde spesies van 2006 tot 2010, in vennootskap met die LNR by die
projek aangesluit. Gedurende die vier jaar lange projek is daar gepoog om alle beskikbare
spinnekopdata in een databasis te konsolideer. Hierdie data is gebruik om die ruimtelike
dekking van spesies te bepaal en vas te stel waar gapings in die data bestaan om sodoende
prioriteitsareas te identifiseer vir meer gefokuste opnames. Uitgebreide versameltogte deur
SANSA-veldwerkbestuurders is gedurende die vier jaar onderneem. Inligting oor spesies is
aangevul deur byvangste van ander navorsingsprojekte, studenteprojekte, en deur openbare
deelname. Al die pogings het waardevolle inligting voorsien oor die teenwoordigheid en
verspreiding van spinnekoppe. Die inligting is gebruik om die Eerste atlas van spinnekopspesies
van Suid-Afrika saam te stel, insluitende kaarte om die verspreiding van elke spesie aan
te dui, sowel as inligting oor die vlakke van endemisme vir elke spesie. Tans is daar 71
spinnekopfamilies, 471 genera en 2028 spesies in Suid-Afrika bekend. Die derde fase van
SANSA is in 2011 van stapel gestuur en verskeie aksies soos die saamstel van ’n rooidatalys van
spesies, ‘n reeks handboeke vir al die biome, die publikasie van die atlas, en die beskrywing
van nuwe spesies is onderweg.
The South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) was initiated in 1997 by
the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), with the main aim of documenting the Arachnid
fauna of South Africa at a national level. Through their Endangered Species Programme, the
South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) came on board for the project’s second
phase, called SANSA II, from 2006 to 2010, in partnership with the ARC. During this four-year
project an attempt was made to consolidate all available data on South African spiders into
one database. This data was used to determine the spatial coverage of the already available
data, and to determine where ‘gaps’ in the data lie to identify priority areas for focused field
work. Due to extensive collecting done by SANSA field work managers, specimen bycatches
from other research projects, student projects, and through public participation in collecting
specimens, more than 40 degree square grids were sampled in previously poorly sampled
areas. This effort has provided valuable material that has improved our knowledge of the
distribution of species, and provided specimens for future taxonomic studies. All this data
was used to compile the First Atlas of the Spider Species of South Africa, including georeferenced
locality data, distribution maps and information on the level of endemicity of each species.
Following SANSA II, 71 spider families, 471 genera and 2028 species are presently known
in South Africa. The third phase of SANSA started in 2011 and several actions, such as Red
Listing of species, a handbook series for all the biomes, publication of the atlas, and description
of new species are underway.
