There are large gaps in human knowledge about African invertebrates. East Africa has a rich coral fauna with about 400 known species. More than 400 species of
echinoderms and 500 species of
Bryozoa live there too, as well as one
Cubozoan species (
Carybdea alata). Of
nematodes, the
Onchocerca volvulus,
Necator americanus,
Wuchereria bancrofti and
Dracunculus medinensis are human parasites. Some of important plant-parasitic nematodes of crops include
Meloidogyne,
Pratylenchus,
Hirschmanniella,
Radopholus,
Scutellonema and
Helicotylenchus. Of the few
Onychophorans,
Peripatopsis and
Opisthopatus live in Africa. Greatest diversity of freshwater mollusks is found in East African lakes. Of marine snails, less diversity is present in Atlantic coast, more in tropical Western Indian Ocean region (over 3,000 species of gastropods with 81 endemic species).
Cowry shells have been used as a money by native Africans. The
land snail fauna is especially rich in
Afromontane regions, and there are some endemic families in Africa (e.g.
Achatinidae,
Chlamydephoridae) but other tropical families are common too (
Charopidae,
Streptaxidae,
Cyclophoridae,
Subulinidae,
Rhytididae). 156 tardigrade species have been found, and about 8,000 species of
arachnids. The African millipede
Archispirostreptus gigas is one of the largest in the world. 20 genera of
freshwater crabs are present. The soil animal communities tropical Africa are poorly known. A few ecological studies have been undertaken on macrofauna, mainly in West Africa. Earthworms are being extensively studied in West and South Africa.
Insects mound in
Botswana Approximately 100,000 species of insects have been described from
Sub-Saharan Africa, but there are very few overviews of the fauna as a whole (it has been estimated that the African insects make up about 10-20% of the global insect species richness, and about 15% of new species descriptions come from Afrotropics). The only endemic African insect order is
Mantophasmatodea. About 875 African species of
dragonflies have been recorded. The
migratory locust and
desert locust have been serious threats to African economies and human welfare. Africa has the biggest number of
termite genera of all continents, and over 1,000 termite species. Of
Diptera, the number of described African species is about 17,000. Natalimyzidae, a new family of acalyptrate flies has been recently described from
South Africa.
Anopheles gambiae,
Aedes aegypti and
tsetse fly are important vectors of diseases. 1600 species of
bees and 2,000 species of
ants among other
Hymenopterans are known from Africa. There live also 3,607 species of
butterflies, being the best known group of insects. The caterpillars of
mopani moth are part of the South African cuisine. Among the numerous species of African
beetles are the famous
sacred scarab, the
centaurus beetle,
manticora tiger beetles and enormous
Goliath beetles.
Butterflies from
Tanzania Hotspots for butterflies include the
Congolian forests and the
Guinean forest-savanna mosaic. Some butterflies (
Hamanumida daedalus,
Precis,
Eurema) are grassland or savannah specialists. Many of these have very large populations and a vast range.
South Africa has one of the highest proportions of Lycaenid butterflies (48%) for any region in the world with many species restricted in range. North Africa is in the
Palaearctic region and has a different species assemblage.
Genera which are
species rich in Africa include
Charaxes,
Acraea,
Colotis and
Papilio, most notably
Papilio antimachus and
Papilio zalmoxis. The tribe Liptenini is
endemic to the
Afrotropics and includes species rich genera such as
Ornipholidotos,
Liptenara,
Pentila,
Baliochila,
Hypophytala,
Teriomima,
Deloneura and
Mimacraea. The
Miletinae are mostly African, notably
Lachnocnema. Other endemic lycaenids include the genus
Alaena. Endemic Nymphalidae include
Euphaedra,
Bebearia,
Heteropsis,
Precis,
Pseudacraea,
Bicyclus and
Euxanthe. Endemic Pieridae include
Pseudopontia paradoxa and
Mylothris. Endemic skippers include
Sarangesaand
Kedestes. The highest
species diversity is in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to 2,040 species 181 of which are endemic. ==Fish==