The basommatophoran family Physidae possesses a remarkable but little known set of muscles called the “physid musculature”. Using Physa acuta as a model, this musculature was shown to be anatomically complex and associated in places with the columellar muscle. The physid musculature has two main components, the physid muscle sensu stricto and the fan muscle, both of which have previously been named but not examined in detail. The physid muscle s.s. is branched with the larger branches running to the neck, head and foot, and the smaller ones to the lung floor and mantle. The fan muscle is not branched. We propose that the physid musculature is responsible for a unique ability of physids to rapidly flick their shells from side to side—a reaction that frequently enables them to escape predation. We suggest that during this movement the lung floor, which is strengthened by several bands of muscle from both the physid musculature and the columellar muscle, serves as a pivot for the rotating visceral hump and shell, while the main trunk of the physid muscle s.s. and its main branches provide a broad anchorage in the foot.

Salticids from the Ndumo Game Reserve (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) are described. In total 72 species of 38 genera were found, of which one genus Aenigma gen. n. and 14 species are described as new: Aenigma incognita sp. n., Bianor eximius sp. n., Evarcha mirabilis sp. n., E. striolata sp. n., Habrocestum africanum sp. n., Icius nigricaudus sp. n., Massagris natalensis sp. n., Phlegra arborea sp. n., Ph. certa sp. n., Pignus pongola sp. n., Pseudicius venustulus sp. n., Rhene pinguis sp. n., Thyenula fidelis sp. n., and Th. magna sp. n. Three specific names are synonymised: Cyrba armata Wesołowska, 2006 with C. lineata Wanless, 1984; Pellenes pulcher Wesołowska, 1999 (junior homonym of P. pulcher Logunov, 1995) with P. tharinae Wesołowska, 2006; and Thyene strandi Caporiacco, 1939 with Th. natalii Peckham & Peckham, 1903. A new combination, Evarcha annae (ex Habrocestum annae Peckham & Peckham, 1903) is proposed. Twenty species are recorded from South Africa for the first time: Asemonea Stella Wanless, 1980; Cyrba boveyi Lessert, 1933; Evarcha elegans Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000; E. ignea Wesołowska & Cumming, 2008; E. prosimilis Wesołowska & Cumming, 2008; Goleba puella (Simon, 1885); Heliophanus fascinatus Wesołowska, 1986; H. pauper Wesołowska, 1986; Hispo georgius (Peckham & Peckham, 1892); Menemerus minshullae Wesołowska, 1999; Modunda staintoni (O.P.-Cambridge, 1872); Myrmarachne lulengana Roewer, 1965; Nigorella plebeja (L. Koch, 1875); Pellenes epularis (O.P.-Cambridge, 1872); P. bulawayoensis Wesołowska, 1999; P. tharinae Wesołowska, 2006; Pseudicius alter Wesołowska, 1999; Schenkelia modesta Lessert, 1927; Thyene bucculenta (Gerstaecker, 1873); and Th. semiargentea (Simon, 1884). The rich diversity of Salticidae collected in this study, and the proportion of new species relative to the total jumping spider fauna (19%), highlight the need to maintain conservation efforts within Maputaland protected areas with management plans that also take invertebrate taxa into consideration.

The fossil record of spiders as currently known is briefly reviewed, with special reference to Africa. The second specimen of Triassaraneus andersonorum Selden in Selden et al. 1999 is described from a different locality in the Triassic (Carnian, c. 225 Ma) Molteno Formation of South Africa.

The genus Anodontoceras Yukawa is newly recorded from the Afrotropical Region and Anodontoceras harrisi sp. n. is described from South Africa. The new species is most closely related to A. saigusai Yukawa, which is of East Palaearctic/Oriental distribution. The female of A. saigusai is described for the first time. New data on the distribution of A. saigusai and A. yukawai Jaschhof in Japan are presented.

Six new species of the ichneumonid genus Aneuclis are described from South Africa: A. laminosa sp. n., A. lanternaria sp. n., A. larga sp. n., A. lasciva sp. n., A. lugubris sp. n., and A. vannoorti sp. n. A key to known Afrotropical species of Aneuclis is provided.

The genus Sisyrnodytes Loew, 1856 is reviewed and the Afrotropical species revised. A key for the separation of species is presented and the fauna is discussed with respect to available distributional and biological data. The following Afrotropical species are described as new: aethes (South Africa), ausensis (Namibia), dasykylon (South Africa, Namibia), oligotrichus (Namibia), xeromyia (Botswana, Namibia). The following previously described Afrotropical species are considered valid: apicalis Oldroyd, 1957; aterrimus Engel, 1929; brevis (Macquart, 1838); curtus (Wiedemann, 1819); irwini Oldroyd, 1974; major Adams, 1905;nilicola(Rondani, 1850); niveipilosus Ricardo, 1925; subater Oldroyd, 1957; vestitus Oldroyd, 1974. The following new synonymies are established: S. defusus Oldroyd, 1974 and S. diplocus Oldroyd, 1974 = S. brevis; S. luscinius (Walker, 1849) = S. curtus; S. erebus Oldroyd, 1957 = S. major. A neotype is designated for S. brevis (Macquart, 1838), and lectotypes are designated for S. major; S. floccus Loew, 1856; S. niveipilosus. One species has been removed from Sisyrnodytes: Acnephalum sericeus (Oldroyd, 1974), comb. n.

The distribution of the eggs of the African mopane psyllid Retroacizzia mopani on the mopane tree Colophospermum mopane leaves was studied in the field and in the laboratory by observations and scanning electron microscopy. R. mopani eggs were observed and collected from the host plant, on which the nymphs live and feed on the leaf phloem. The distribution of eggs and nymphs on the leaflets was observed. Eggs were deposited mostly on the abaxial surface and most eggs (76%) were found along veins. Contrary to the literature, eggs were not attached to the leaflet surface by a pedicel but were glued to the surface. Eggs were laid mostly in clusters and were often camouflaged by black fungal spots that were common on the leaflets. To avoid desiccation, C. mopane leaflets usually fold together to reduce the surface area exposed to sunlight, thus reducing the rate of water loss.

Three new genera and four new species, all assigned to Maimetshidae, are described from the Turonian (U. Cretaceous) of Orapa in Botswana (southern Africa), viz., Afrapia globularis gen. et sp. n., A. variicornis sp. n., Afromaimetsha robusta gen. et sp. n., and Maimetshorapia africana gen. et sp. n. The genera Andyrossia Rasnitsyn & Jarzembowski, 2000 from the Barremian (L. Cretaceous) of the Weald Clay (southern England) and Guyotemaimetsha Perrichot, Nel & Néraudeau, 2004 from the Albian (L. Cretaceous) of France are also transferred to Maimetshidae. Cretogonalys Rasnitsyn, 1977 from the Cenomanian (U. Cretaceous) of northern Siberia may also belong here. These results extend the known duration of Maimetshidae over the entire middle part of the Cretaceous (from the Barremian to the Santonian), its geographic distribution over the western half of the Old World (from northernmost Siberia to westernmost Europe and southern Africa), and its taxonomic diversity to at least six genera and seven species, with the diversity possibly centred in Africa. The taxonomic and phylogenetic positions of Maimetshidae are discussed.

Kleptoparasitic behaviour of a myrmecophilous fly, Milichia patrizii Hennig, 1952, towards the ant Crematogaster castanea tricolor Gerstaecker, 1859 in South Africa is documented, illustrated by photographs, and discussed.