120 Years in 120 Objects

Join the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in celebrating the museum’s 120^th year of orbiting the sun. Staff and guest curators have chosen one object or item per year of our existence to highlight to the public. Visit the website and our social media platforms regularly to see the latest object and keep an eye out for information about a physical exhibition later this year!

Today’s Object is from 1937

Evelyn Pickford and the “Worm Women” by Siyabonga Zamisa, Research Technician, Natural Sciences

The study of earthworms—often seen as a "dirty" and labour-intensive field—has traditionally been male-dominated. However, in the southern part of Africa, a trio of pioneering women has dramatically changed this narrative, leaving an indelible mark on the world of earthworm research. Evelyn Pickford, Danuta Plisko, and Thembeka Nxele, have all contributed significantly to the study and understanding of these humble yet ecologically crucial creatures.

In the early 20th century, Evelyn Pickford emerged as a formidable force in earthworm research, particularly in the study of the Acanthodrilidae family. At a time when women in science faced significant barriers, Pickford’s work stood out. She meticulously clarified uncertainties in this group, published descriptions of new species, and in 1937, authored a monograph on acanthodrilid earthworms. This work not only expanded scientific knowledge but also became the cornerstone of the Acanthodrilidae collection and database at Iziko Museums of South Africa. The period between the two wars saw significant contributions by female scholars in many natural and human science fields in South Africa.

Pickford’s specimens, which she accurately collected and described, were originally housed at the South African Museum (Iziko Museums of South Africa) and Danuta Plisko requested a loan, after seeing that the specimens did not have a curator at Iziko Museum of South Africa, than Danuta Plisko asked for a long-term loan as the KwaZulu-Natal Museum had a curator who can look after the specimens. Today, they remain an invaluable part of the Oligochaeta collection housed at the KwaZulu-Natal Museum. Pickford’s contributions laid the groundwork for future research in the region, inspiring subsequent generations of scientists. Today, the torch is carried by Thembeka Nxele, who still studies acanthodrilid earthworms, standing on the shoulders of those who came before and enhancing the KZN Museum’s research reputation.

120 Years in 120 Objects

Join the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in celebrating the museum’s 120^th year of orbiting the sun. Staff and guest curators have chosen one object or item per year of our existence to highlight to the public. Visit the website and our social media platforms regularly to see the latest object and keep an eye out for information about a physical exhibition later this year!

Today’s Object is from 1967

The Missing Snake by Matabaro Ziganira, Research Technician, General Collections

This rare cream-spotted mountain snake (Montaspis gilvomuculata) is endemic to the north-central Drakensberg Mountains in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Only four specimens are known and were collected between 1967 and 1991; no specimen has been identified or collected in the past 33 years. Unfortunately, one live snake escaped and disappeared during its captivity and  thus only three specimens are currently housed in collections in South African museums. The specimen at the KwaZulu-Natal Museum is the oldest and was collected in 1967 in the Giant’s Castle Game Reserve by Z. Grafton, but the exact site remains unknown.

In a collection that is close to half a million items strong and collected over a period of 120 years, it is normal for some items to “go missing”. An old tag may fall off or the writing on it may fade and become illegible or something may inadvertently be placed in an incorrect location. This was the case with the KwaZulu-Natal specimen. The specimen was requested by various researchers but was never found in the Herpetology Collections. The situation was compounded because the museum has no curator of herpetology and the collection is regarded as “orphaned”.  In 2020, however, during an intervention into the collections, the specimen was located; it had been shelved in the incorrect location some decades ago. Since relocation, a steady stream of research requests have been received!

Montaspis gilvomuculata. Photo by Matabaro Ziganira

120 Years in 120 Objects

Join the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in celebrating the museum’s 120^th year of orbiting the sun. Staff and guest curators have chosen one object or item per year of our existence to highlight to the public. Visit the website and our social media platforms regularly to see the latest object and keep an eye out for information about a physical exhibition later this year!

Today’s Object is from 1912

Tiny shells of Afrodonta inhluzaniensis (Burnup, 1912) by Igor Muratov, Curator of Mollusca

There is often an interesting story behind a shell of a mollusc.

The first curator of our collection, Henry Clifden Burnup (1852–1928) sent many shells to other malacologists (besides publishing eight papers on land snails himself) who described new taxa based on that material. In particular, he collected a tiny (0.84×1.48 mm) shell at Dargle, Edendale Falls on June 29, 1907 and sent it to James Cosmo Melvill (1845–1929) and John Henry Ponsonby (1848–1916). The following year they described it as a new genus and a new species: Afrodonta bilamellaris Melvill & Ponsonby, 1908 that was designated as a type species of their new genus on the next page of the same journal by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen (1834–1923).

Four years later, Burnup (1912) published an article with the revision of Afrodonta Melvill & Ponsonby, 1908 and described three new species of that genus. Although all the holotypes* of these three species are in London, our collection has three paratypes** of Afrodonta inhluzaniensis (Burnup, 1912) from Inhluzani Mountain (Dargle area, Nhlosane) that Burnup mentioned in the original description. The shells of this species are approximately the same size (0.86×1.44 mm) as A. bilamellaris, but differ from it by the position of apertural lamellae (see the illustrations).

Top row: the shell (diameter 1.45 mm) of Afrodonta bilamellaris Melvill & Ponsonby, 1908 in KZNM collection (after Herbert 2020: 6, Fig. 1 A–C). Middle row: the original illustrations of the holotype (0.86×1.44 mm) of A. inhluzaniensis (Burnup, 1912: PL. XXIV, figs 14, 15, 17). Bottom row: the shell (diameter 1.42 mm) of A. inhluzaniensis in KZNM collection (after Herbert 2020: 12, Fig. 4 A–C).

* A holotype is the specimen on which an original description is based.

** Paratypes are specimens from the same series as a holotype.

References

Burnup H.C. 1912. On Afrodonta Melv. and Pons., with descriptions of new species. Annals of the Natal Museum 2(3): 333–343. PL. XXIV, figs 14–17.

Godwin-Austen H.H. 1908. Notes in the anatomy of Afrodonta M. & P.: Type A. bilamellaris, M. & P. In Melvill & Ponsonby, 1908. Descriptions of nine terrestrial Mollusca from South Africa. Including anatomical descriptions of two new genera (Afrodonta, M. & P., and Peltatus, G.-A.) by Lt.-Col. H.H. Godwin-Austen, F.R.S. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Series 8, 1(2): 135.

Herbert D.G. 2020. Revision of the aperturally dentate Charopidae (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora) of southern Africa – genus Afrodonta s. lat., with description of five new genera, twelve new species and one new subspecies. European Journal of Taxonomy: 629: 1–55. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.629

Melvill J.C. & Ponsonby J.H. 1908. Descriptions of nine terrestrial Mollusca from South Africa. Including anatomical descriptions of two new genera (Afrodonta, M. & P., and Peltatus, G.-A.) by Lt.-Col. H.H. Godwin-Austen, F.R.S. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Series 8, 1(2): 129–136.