VOLUME 37 /// 2014 DURBAN•NATURAL•SCIENCE•MUSEUM•NOVITATES EDITOR D.G Allan Curator of Birds Durban Natural Science Museum P.O. Box 4085 Durban 4000, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD Dr A.J. Armstrong Animal Scientist (Herpetofauna & Invertebrates) Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife G.B.P. Davies Curator of Birds Ditsong National Museum of Natural History Dr L. Richards Curator of Mammals e-mail: [email protected] Prof. P.J. Taylor School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences University of Venda Dr K.A. Williams Curator of Entomology e-mail: [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Librarian Durban Natural Science Museum P.O. Box 4085 Durban 4000, South Africa e-mail:[email protected] COVER IMAGE Cape grass lizard Chamaesaura anguina Photo: Johan Marais Published by the Durban Natural Science Museum 1 EDITORIAL Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates 37 EDITORIAL SOUTH AFRICAN NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM JOURNALS - THE PAST 50 YEARS (1964 - 2013) GOING DOWN SWINGING OR ADJUSTING TO THE RIGHT FIGHTING WEIGHT? This editorial briefly reviews publication trends in the scientific component (Fig. 1). Four of these are national museums: Ditsong journals published by South African museums that are solely or National Museum of Natural History (Pretoria), National Museum – partially focused on the natural sciences. It is based on an oral Bloemfontein, KwaZulu-Natal Museum (Pietermaritzburg) and Iziko presentation given at the conference of the International Council of South African Museum (Cape Town). Five are provincial museums: Museums – South Africa (ICOM-SA) in August 2014. The conference McGregor Museum (Kimberley) and a cluster of four museums was hosted at the Durban Natural Science Museum Research Centre (making up the ‘Eastern Cape Provincial Museums’) in the Eastern during 26 - 27 August and its theme was “Museum research in South Cape Province: Amatole Museum (King Williams Town), East London Africa – relevance and future”. Museum, Albany Museum (Grahamstown) and Port Elizabeth Museum/ Bayworld. The tenth museum is lodged at local government level: the Durban Natural Science Museum. South African natural science museum journals Table 1 summarizes details of the various journals that have been produced by the relevant natural science museums in South Africa over time. The Ditsong National Museum of Natural History and its predecessor the ‘Transvaal Museum’ has been responsible for the publication of two formal scientific journals. Its ‘Annals’ began in 1908 and continues to date, albeit with a change in name in 2011. Its more lengthy ‘Memoirs’ began in 1943 and was renamed as ‘Monographs’ in 1983. The most recent edition of the ‘Monographs’ was produced in 2009. The KwaZulu-Natal Museum and its predecessor the ‘Natal Museum’ also produced an ‘Annals’ series that began in 1906 and which continued, with a name change in 1910, until 2000. In the last-mentioned year it was subjected to a further name change and a concentration in focus, as African Invertebrates, that continues to date. The Durban Natural Science Museum and its predecessors the ‘Durban Museum’ and ‘Durban Natural History Museum’ is another institution that has produced a series of ‘Annals’ starting in 1914. This Fig. 1. The 10 museums in South Africa that are either solely devoted to the natural sciences or that have a strong nature-science component: national publication was renamed as the Durban Museum Novitates in 1952 museums: Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Pretoria), National and again as the Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates in 2008. It Museum – Bloemfontein, KwaZulu-Natal Museum (Pietermaritzburg) and Iziko continues under the latter name to date. South African Museum (Cape Town); provincial museums: McGregor Museum The National Museum - Bloemfontein initiated its ‘Navorsinge’ in (Kimberley) Amatole Museum (King Williams Town), East London Museum, 1952 and these continue to date. This museum also began its series of Albany Museum (Grahamstown) and Port Elizabeth Museum/Bayworld; and local lengthy ‘Memoirs’ in 1960 and these continued until 1989. museums: Durban Natural Science Museum. The Albany Museum produced a series of ‘Records’ from 1903 to 1935. Subsequently the five provincial museums that occurred in the South African natural science museums former ‘Cape Province’ (McGregor, Amatole, East London, Albany There are 10 museums in South Africa that are either solely devoted and Port Elizabeth/Bayworld) were served by the ‘Annals of the Cape to the natural sciences or that have a strong natural-science 2 EDITORIAL Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates 37 Table 1. A summary of the various journals produced by the relevant natural science museums in South Africa over time. See main text for full details. MUSEUM JOURNAL START END Ditsong National Museum Annals of the Transvaal Museum 1908 2009 of Natural History Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History 2011 Present Memoirs of the Transvaal Museum 1943 1979 Monographs of the Transvaal Museum 1983 2009 KwaZulu-Natal Museum Annals of the Natal Government Museum 1906 1909 Annals of the Natal Museum 1910 2000 African Invertebrates 2001 Present Durban Natural Science Museum Annals of the Durban Museum 1914 1947 Durban Museum Novitates 1952 2007 Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates 2008 Present National Museum - Bloemfontein Memoirs of the National Museum 1960 1989 Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum, Bloemfontein 1952 Present Eastern Cape Provincial Museums: Albany Museum Records of the Albany Museum 1903 1935 Port Elizabeth Museum/Bayworld East London Museum Amatole Museum (formerly McGregor Museum) Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums (Natural History) 1979 1997 Annals of the Eastern Cape Museums 2000 Present? Iziko South African Museum Annals of the South African Museum 1898 2004 African Natural History 2005 Present Provincial Museums (Natural History)’ that began in 1979 and continued Museum, Bloemfontein, others have done so in the past, e.g. the Annals until 1997. In 2000 this series was revived as the ‘Annals of the Eastern of the Natal Museum, and some have never included articles on the Cape Museums’ (now servicing only the Amatole, East London, Albany humanities, e.g. the Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates and its and Port Elizabeth/Bayworld museums), which apparently continues to predecessors. For the purposes of this review, all articles related to date, although the last edition was in 2011. the humanities have been entirely excluded from consideration. The Iziko South African Museum was the first natural science museum in the country to boast a scientific journal. Its ‘Annals’ was Overall contributions by discipline initiated in 1989 and continued until 2004, when it was renamed Over the 50-year period, some 2238 articles covering the natural African Natural History. It continues under this title to date. sciences have appeared in these journals, and these articles span a total of some 62 821 pages (Fig. 2a & b). Clearly, the biggest overall Methology contributors to South African natural science museum journals are The period covered by this review comprises the 50 years 1964 – invertebrate biologists and, to a lesser extent, palaeontologists. These 2013. The methodology at the core of this review was to determine two disciplines have contributed over three-quarters of the total the number of articles published, and the number of pages spanned by in terms of both the number of articles published and the number these articles, in South African natural science museum journals over of pages spanned, with the contribution of invertebrate biologists this time period. The information was further examined at a finer alone amounting to over half of both respective totals. Within the scale related to the various disciplines within the natural sciences broad category of invertebrates, entomology has featured slightly and by the five individual 10-year periods within the overall 50- more prominently than other invertebrate groups. Relevant to the year period of relevance. Some of the relevant journals also include latter group, it might have been valuable to differentiate between coverage of the humanities, e.g. the Navorsinge van die Nasionale contributions addressing finer taxonomic levels within this group, Durban Natural Science Museum Novitates 37 EDITORIAL 3 1964-1973 1974-1983 1984-1993 1994-2003 2004-2013 1964-1973 1974-1983 1984-1993 1994-2003 2004-2013 TOTAL 74 201 74 30 44 TOTAL 3450 8479 3516 1970 1090 Entomology 66533Entomology 552 141 313 209 36 Other invertebrates 31 74 30 7 13 Other invertebrates 1434 3015 1206 404 345 Palaeontology 32 107 37 18 27 Palaeontology 992 4893 1963 1329 678 Figs 2a & b. The number of articles published (2a) and the number of pages spanned byMammalogy these articles (2b) in29101 South African natural science museum journals over Mammalogy 29 209 11 0 31 the 50-year period 1964 – 2013 by individual discipline. The numbers in brackets after theOrnithology name of each discipline22110 represent the number of articles published and the Ornithology 285 135 23 10 0 number of pages spanned for each discipline respectively. Herpetology 13010Herpetology 158 86 0 18 0 perhaps especially between marine and terrestrial forms, but this has 250 9000 not been pursued here. Similarly, it might have been useful to have 8000 differentiated the articles covering entomology into the different 200 7000 TOTAL TOTAL insect orders where relevant but examination at this level of detail 6000 150 Entomology