Diario del proyecto Biodiversity of Botswana

A fossilised staphylinidae sp beetle discovered at Orapa

Paleothius mckayi sp. n.: A New Species of Staphylininae (Arthropoda: Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from Orapa in Botswana

https://meridian.allenpress.com/jes/article/doi/10.18474/JES23-53/499319/Paleothius-mckayi-sp-n-A-New-Species-of

1. MARCH 2024 A new species of bullfrog in NW Botswana - a whopper !
   Pyxicephalus beytelli
   https://novataxa.blogspot.com/2024/03/pyxicephalus.html
   https://www.iol.co.za/news/environment/largest-frog-species-in-over-a-century-found-in-africa-3ee64f86-a551-4a72-949c-cf47d4879f85
   https://taungdailynews.com/tag/a-new-species-of-african-bullfrog-has-been-discovered-in-north-eastern-of-namibia/

As of 26 March 24 this name is not yet in the iNat taxonomy
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/26192-Pyxicephalus

@grant_reed_botswana @ian_white @rianafourie @robert_taylor @tuli @murphy_tladi @derekdlh @gekkoman @matewe @tonyrebelo @alexanderr @traianbertau
And don't forget the City Nature Challenge 24 April 26-29 ! Help spread the word.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-botswana
Join our CNC 24 Botswana project and volunteer to become project admins.

To Botswana's iNaturalists

After consulting Botswana's most active, resident iNaturalists in previous City Nature Challenge and Great Southern Bioblitz events, it has been decided that we should no longer divide Botswana up into four competing regions. Instead, Botswana is entering these bioblitzes in 2024 as one country.

The justification for this is that the population of the whole country of Botswana is less than that of many cities.

We are still in the process of making a project for our entry in the City Nature Challenge 24. Here is a first draft !
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-botswana

Please make suggestions for a much better and more exciting banner picture.
Join the project and if you would like to be one of the admins or have any corrections or suggestions for improvement, message @Botswanabugs.

More organisers are needed for Botswana in the CNC and GSB in 2024. Please volunteer. There is so much that needs to be done to get more Batswana, school and college students, Biology teachers, park managers and guides etc etc erc involved in these events and making use of iNaturalist..

Thank you

From Tony Benn ( aka Botswanabugs) from Serowe, Central Botswana
tonybenn1957@gmail.com

@grant_reed_botswana @tuli @matewe @robert_taylor @murphy_tladi @modise
@kestrel @asongdog-gubat @rianafourie @lyn+francey @derekdlh @stephen220 @ dougmacsafaris @bonolomosime @nancymntlvo @kyledenobrega @gerritgoosen @gihan @mmapula @maia_guerra @ianwhite @twitchyjim @antshrike69 @johnbarclay @tshephibotumile @jeremy_botswana @richard_mazebedi @shaz6 @bartswana @adrian_wilson @guy_williams @jonoharper @jpbw @skhebomus @desertnaturalist @okavango1 @suvarna @tonyrebelo

1. Do we add singular, plural or both when we add a vernacular name from Botswana in Setswana or one of the other many languages of Botswana.
   I think we should make an effort to add both singulars and plurals.
   Doesnt this make searching for a taxon much easier on inat if both are in the system.
   Though I have found most names in Botswana's languages are singular and plurals have been neglected, sometimes it is hard to search for a siingular word.

I tried to search for nong - a bird in Setswana and came up with nothing. Such a basic word. However I was able to find Dinonyane ( birds).

I've brought up this issue also in a Forum post.
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/singular-or-plural-names-in-africa-or-both/43365

2 Should we write names in a conventional way with the Capital letter only at the start of the word and not at the third letter as linguists seem to love ?
I think we should be writing names as most Batswana write names. With the capital letter only at the beginning.
This is certainly open for debate and discussion !

3 I don't think many people in Botswana use accents in words except linguists.
There may be accents in some dictionaries but if they are not used by ordinary people in their writing should we be using them on iNaturalist ?
Accents are very important in French but I dont think they are in Botswana languages.

Here are example of some Setswana names in iNat.

I found these names for a dusky lark in iNat Se.Botha, Se.Bothê
I suggest we should be adding the names as Sebotha and Sebothe using a more conventional form of writing as used by Mr or Miss Average Motswana in Botswana.

Camel thorn Vachellia erioloba is moGôtlhô in INat. What is wrong with Mogotlho ?
Are we creating iNaturalist for linguists or for normal people ?

I hope this arouses a bit of discussion.
Thank you for considering the issue of simplification of writing styles.

Thank you
Tony Benn ( aka Botswanabugs)

Get ready for the Great Southern Bioblitz .The ‘Great Southern BioBlitz’, or ‘GSB’ for short, is an international period of intense biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species across the Southern Hemisphere in Spring, from 24 to 27 Nov.
Four Botswana areas shall be competing against hundreds of other southern hemisphere areas to show off the amazing Botswana hyperbiodiversity.
Save the date: 24-27 November 2023

More about #GSB2023: https://www.greatsouthernbioblitz.org/

The four Botswana areas taking part are
Northern Botswana
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2023-northern-botswana

Gaborone & SE
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2023-gaborone-se

Botswana South
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2023-botswana-south-f238aec8-3849-47e6-9506-bbe318ad4e21

Botswana Central
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2023-botswana-central

Wherever you are in Botswana, join in the fun ! 24-27 November.

https://www.unep.org/events/un-day/international-day-biological-diversity-2023?fbclid=IwAR2b8v8h2yDjlx7r9ZU7VyHGmLNPIXnXjBz7Qee3_4Nbha_M3a5Gj_iMPB4

Great thanks to all those in Botswana who took part in the City Nature Challenge 23, either as observers or identifiers.
Our top observers in the whole of Botswana were both ladies from Gaborone tuli-2/tuli ( one person with two accounts) 470 observations, and Skybella7, 119 observations. ( Botswanabugs being excluded ).
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2023-cnc-botswana-overview?tab=observers

Together, 13 observers in our four Botswana areas that participated were able to make
1853 observations and to date, 554 species have been identified.

There are still 1493 observations that still need to be identified to species level !
Keep on trying to identify them !
Here they are.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=113055&project_id=2023-cnc-botswana-overview&quality_grade=needs_id&verifiable=any

Please sign up to be an organiser for one of Botswana's areas in the next City Nature Challenge 24.
Botswana needs organisers.
for
Northern Botswana, Gaborone & SE, Botswana Central, Botswana South

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8ttMfI023LQC9swntYSZz26PqJnG6IxIHR_3smHwHSjrdgA/viewform

Also join and contribute to these Facebook groups.
https://web.facebook.com/iNaturalistBW
https://web.facebook.com/iNatureZA

How can we boost Botswana's participation in the next event, the CNC 24 ?
Please share ideas.

Thanks everyone for making the CNC 23 a really fun event.

@matewe @tuli @shaz6 @robert_taylor @bugs-mcstuffins @skybella7 @nalediseniorsecondary @linda-prinslow @guy_williams @anthony1764 @sirhanni @gihan @rianafourie @ianwhite @grant_reed_botswana @murphy_tladi @intotheokavango
@gerritgoosen @modise @johnbarclay @jeremy_botswana @kyledenobrega @cuutamo @richard_mazebedi @mmapula @cornerautenbach @jonoharper @tonyrebelo @suvarna @kestrel @amyjaecker-jones @lhiggins

Here are the final results for the Botswana areas and Southern Africa.

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2023-cnc-botswana-overview

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-southern-africa-2023

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023

@rianafourie @robert_taylor @grant_reed_botswana @lyn_francey franc @tuli @spencer_wp @murphy_tladi @matewe @derekdlh @guy_williams @kyledenobrega @gerritgoosen @modise @gihan @henry_parsons
@jeremy_botswana @ianwhite @richard_mazebedi
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-southern-africa-2023

Im writing emails to all School Heads and College Principals hoping to use the P4000 prizemoney to entice teachers,, students and their parents to get involved in the CNC.

Any ideas please ?

Botswanabugs aka Tony Benn

Four areas of Botswana have entered the City Nature Challenge 2023

These are

Botswana Central
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-botswana-central

Botswana South
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-botswana-south

Gaborone & SE
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-gaborone-se

Northern Botswana
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-northern-botswana

The whole of Botswana is covered, so wherever you are in Botswana you can join in the fun.

Here are the areas in East, Central and Southern Africa which are entering the CNC23
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-southern-africa-2023