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Because of limited resources for conservation, and conflicts with other interests, systematic priority analysis is now a central task in conservation biology. Because of doubts about how efficient conservation schemes based on samples of biomes are for maintaining biodiversity, a major shift has taken place to use species distribution data compiled for large numbers of species. The spatial resolution of distribution data for regional or global analysis must necessarily be rather coarse, and it is therefore unclear whether identified priority areas will hold viable populations of all the species they are assumed to cover. We tested this using more finely resolved distribution data for forest birds of eastern Africa. The broad priority areas identified using coarse-scale data were corroborated using fine-scale data, and they appear to include suitable conservation sites for the majority of species. Exceptions to this were mainly in zones with few strictly forest-dependent species. Procedures for corrections and for moving on to identifying action sites within broader priority areas are discussed.

Patterns of scorpion diversity and distribution in southern Africa (south of 15° latitude), and the processes that produced them, are reviewed. A georeferenced presence-only dataset, comprising 6766 point locality records for the 140 scorpion species currently recognised in the subregion, is compiled and analysed with a geographical information system. Hotspots of scorpion species richness and endemism in southern Africa are mapped at the level of a quarter-degree square. The taxonomic composition of the southern African scorpion fauna is assessed and found to comprise distinct western and eastern components. Hotspots of species richness and endemism are concentrated in arid regions with rugged topography, complex geology, or substratal heterogeneity. The distributions of genera and species are discussed in terms of their ecological requirements and modes of speciation within the context of historical events. Historical changes in the geomorphology and climate of southern Africa, coupled with the specific ecological requirements of most southern African scorpions, are proposed as primary causes for their speciation and, ultimately, their high species richness and endemism.

The comparative study of adaptive radiations is a fruitful field that allows to test hypotheses and predictions of evolutionary theory. Madagascar is ideal for such studies because a large number of such radiations evolved on this island in isolation. In vertebrates, the historical biogeography of many Malagasy groups has recently been elucidated by molecular phylogenetic analyses, and by molecular time estimates. Such molecular clocks are a suitable method to estimate colonization times. However, as reviewed herein, they need to be applied cautiously due to the recent discovery of various potential artefacts and pitfalls. As an example of possible comparative studies across radiations, divergences of the Malagasy vertebrate clades to their closest non-Malagasy relatives in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were found to be correlated to species diversity of the Malagasy clades. This suggests that the more diverged clades are richer in species. Pseudoxyrhophiine snakes and mantellid frogs contain distinctly more species than would be expected by this correlation alone. Further such comparative analyses appear to be promising but require a yet better state of knowledge on phylogeny and divergence times of the Malagasy taxa.

The present paper was read as a plenary lecture during the 5 ZFMK International Symposium on Tropical Biology (“African Biodiversity”) to commemorate the scientific life and legacy of Professor Martin Eisentraut, who was director of ZFMK from 1957 - with two years interruption - to 1977. The paper is aimed to show appreciation to his many scientific achievements in vertebrate zoology by giving an outline of his career, which focussed on the exploration of Central African, particularly Cameroonian vertebrates.

A checklist of Kenyan Dermaptera was composed from the literature, material of the National Museum Kenya, a database by one of us, and recently collected material. In Kenya 46 species in 23 genera from 10 families occur, with 5 endemic and 6 cosmopolitan species. Two new records were based on our personal collecting. Two species were previously not recorded: Hincks, 1955 and (Hincks, 1951) from Kakamega Forest Reserve. The species numbers for the neighbouring countries was compiled from an online database (see http://www.earwigsonline.de). We believe that the relief of Kenya, with large areas above 1500 to 2000 m and the moderate temperatures and large dry areas in Northern Kenya provide unfavourable conditions for Dermaptera.

Research on speciation processes in tropical evergreen forests is of high importance for the understanding of the genesis of biodiversity. The Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania are a biodiversity “hotspot”, including many single mountain endemics. One endemic genus of this area is the flightless grasshopper genus . The morphologically very similar species of this genus were studied by means of multivariate morphometrics. Although significant differences were found between all species in each character studied as well as in multidimensional space, there was a slight degree of overlap between some of the species. This was particularly true for the species and , while the sister genus differed in many regards from the species. The phenetic distance between the species correlates well with the genetic distances based upon mtDNA sequences. The genus seems to represent a neoendemic radiation with uncertain species status. Although genetic, ecological and morphometric differences are rather low, the differences in courtship behaviour are pronounced. Based upon the phenetic and phylogenetic relationships, a typophylogeographic scenario can be proposed, in which riverine and coastal forests acted as habitat corridors in humid periods. The rainshadow of Zanzibar island might be the most important barrier for southern and northern sister taxa endemic to the coastal forests and the Eastern Arc.

In the BIOTA East Project E06 (BMBF project ID 01LC0025), three field trips to the Kakamega Forest Reserve were undertaken between September 2002 and January 2004. Among other Orthoptera representatives 122 specimens of Ensifera were recorded. Most of the specimens were collected manually, using a net, or recorded at light traps. The number of species occurring in Kenya is about 200, according to the NMK collection, literature data (; ; ), and OSF (). According to the Orthopteran Species File OSF (http://osf2x.orthoptera.org/osf2.2/ OSF2X2Frameset.htm) the type locality of 94 species is located in Kenya. Both figures will most probably increase significantly in the future. From the Kakamega Forest region, 33 species in seven families are reported to date, based on our own field collecting (122 specimens) and NMK data (about 60 specimens). The estimated minimal number of occurring species is 60.

Within a survey of canopy arthropods made by insecticidal fogging in the Budongo Forest, a semideciduous rainforest in Western Uganda, during the rainy season and the dry season, an unusually large number of Ceratocanthidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) was collected. Five species were found: (Paulian, 1943), (Petrovitz, 1968), Petrovitz, 1967, and Paulian, 1968, all recorded for the first time from Uganda, and (Paulian, 1937). This is the best documented evidence of an association of Ceratocanthidae with the canopy of understory trees and the first time that this phenomenon is discussed. Furthermore, observations about seasonality, reproductive biology, sex ratio and abundance are presented.

Dung beetles are the main dung recyclers in most Afrotropical environments. We compare dung beetle abundance in herbivore dung in West and East African grasslands that are subject to various anthropogenic disturbances. Dung beetles are similarly abundant in grasslands with indigenous wild herbivores and with extensive cattle farming. However, if herbivore dung is regularly removed (i.e. collected by local people for domestic and agricultural use) or not present locally at all, the abundance of dung beetles decreases. The lowest numbers were found in an urban settlement.

The distinctive character of the Afrotropical fauna has developed during a long period of isolation. About 30 million years ago the African and Eurasian plates collided and numerous groups migrated in and out of Africa. Successful colonizers adapted and became part of the endemic communities. Based on a biogeographic and phylogenetic analysis, the African species of the genus were identified as belonging to this group of early immigrants. The genus now contains 17 afrotropical species all belonging to the -group which is endemic to Africa. The ranges of the related groups are in the Holarctic Region (-group), and India to South East Asia (-group). This area contains the diversity centre of the genus. The African species are rather homogenous in their morphology, and their great similarity is indicative of a single immigration event. The species are unevenly distributed over the continent, with a concentration in the central African Rift system. A continental species colonised Madagascar, and subsequently Mauritius and Reunion. In an attempt to reconstruct the expansion routes, the phylogeography of the group is examined and briefly discussed.