The Natural Science Collections Facility is a network of South African institutions holding natural science collections, established as part of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation’s Research Infrastructure Roadmap and co-ordinated by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Participating institutions are committed to collaborating to achieve the following objectives:
Collections secured and accessible physically and virtually for research
Data from specimens in collections accessible and used for managing collections, research and decision-making
Research on collections and associated data addresses issues of national and global relevance
Collections and associated research provide services to identify natural science specimens for a range of stakeholders including in the agriculture, health, environmental management and academic sectors
Latest News
Lilisoe mbadlae: The Reflective Collaborator
Habitat:Found thriving in dynamic, people-centered environments — from museum workspaces to collaborative project settings — Lilisoe mbadlae flourishes where open dialogue, teamwork, and shared purpose intersect. This species is often sighted bridging gaps between...
Siphamandlus mcelelianus: The Vibrant Connector
Found thriving in the lively halls of NRF-SAIAB, Grahamstown, Siphamandlus mcelelianus is a Wet Specimen Photographer known for bringing light, laughter, and life to every environment. With an energetic nature and a gift for connection, this species thrives in...
Nonkululekia ntshangasensis: The Grounded Collaborator
Habitat: Pretoria, thriving within the collaborative ecosystem of SANBI. Niche: Specializes in managing and refining biodiversity data to serve a wide range of end users, ensuring accuracy and accessibility across the scientific landscape. Distinctive Traits: This...
New species described from South African collections
Three new species of southern African horseshoe bats
A new study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society has increased the diversity of southern African horseshoe bats by three species. One (named Rhinolophus gorongosae) appears to occur only in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique and possibly also on nearby Mount Mecula, and is genetically distinct from neighbouring horseshoe bat populations.
New species of Mongrel Frogs described from northern Mozambique
Werner Conradie and colleagues recently described four new species of frogs from the genus Nothophryne. Previously only found in southern Malawi, it was recently found that at least four new species occur from four different inselbergs in northern Mozambique. Read...
New species of wasp (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) described from the Seychelles
A new species of wasp was recently published in the journal Atoll Research Bulletin. The authors provides the species richness of the flat wasp fauna from Cousine Island, Seychelles, and describes a new species Holepyris gaigherae. Holotype material is deposited at...
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Use of Collections
Shale Gas Exploration SEA
Barcode of Wildlife Project
Red List Assessments
Virtual Museum
The NSCF aims to increase the accessibility and use of natural science collections for research and also to secure collections.
One mechanism of achieving both these objectives is to establish a “virtual museum” which will take the form of detailed images of important specimens such as types, and to also provide digital access to documents such as historical field notes, old catalogue books and accession registers and other documents related to the collections. Over the next two years we will initiate a project to digitise specimens and important documents and to make these available online. We also aim to show some of the collection store rooms online to provide a sense of the scope and scale of these for the public who rarely have the chance to see these hidden treasures.
