Scorpiones, Solifugae and Araneae of the Matobo World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe

Arachnids are among the most common and ubiquitous of animals, being found in all terrestrial ecosystems. All Arachnids, excluding Acari, are obligate carnivores, and insects constitute their principal prey. Being short-lived they adjust more rapidly to changes in the environment caused by changes in the land use thus making them useful ecological indicators. Moreover, many arachnids are also considered to be of medical importance. However, data about the Arachnid fauna of Zimbabwe and its protected areas is not available thus this project aims to make the Matobo World Heritage Site, South West Zimbabwe, Arachnid collections at the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe accessible through GBIF by end of 2018. This collection includes Scorpiones, Solifugae and Araneae collected between 1978 and 2018 from 51 families and totaling 4062 Araneae specimen lots and 148 scorpion specimen lots.