Lesotho
The Maloti Minnow Pseudobarbus quathlambae (Africa Geographic) is a freshwater fish long known only from Lesotho, but rediscovered in South Africa as well in 2017 (ResearchGate).
The
Drakensberg River Frog
(or Sani Pass Frog) Amietia
dracomontana (p. 71 of SANBI
pdf) was formerly considered a distinct species known only from
Lesotho, but a recent article (ResearchGate)
considers it a synonym of the more widespread Delalande's
River Frog Amietia
delalandii.
Insects found exclusively in Lesotho include the Lesotho Meadow Katydid
Conocephalus basutoanus
(IUCN),
the grasshoppers Basutacris
inflatifrons (OSF)
and Qachas fastigiata
(OSF)
and Brachyphymus basuto
(OSF)
and Sphingonotus
basutensis (OSF),
a
scarab beetle Epirinus
muellerae (GBIF),
a
weevil Basothorhynchus
endroedyi (GBIF),
the
ants Plagiolepis simoni
(AntWiki)
and Camponotus basuto
(AntWiki),
the cockroach wasps Dolichurus
basuto (WaspWeb
WM)
and Ampulex lesothoensis
(BHL),
a sweat bee Eupetersia
guillarmodi (GBIF)
(BHL),
a plant bug Austropsallus
saniensis
(fig. 53 at BHL),
a snipe fly Atherimorpha
latipennis (ZooKeys),
and a tiger fly Coenosia
curiosa (Zootaxa
pdf).
Over 30 new species of owlet moths were described from Lesotho in 2005 (Semantic Scholar) including Ochropleura distriata (Afromoths WM) plus several geometrid moths (Sabinet) including Pseudomaenas dukei (iNaturalist) and Piercia petraria (AfroMoths WM). Endemic plume moths include Platyptilia bowkeri and Platyptilia sochivkoi (both on p. 4 of African Invertebrates WM pdf). A butterfly, Pringle's Widow Torynesis pringlei (p. 9 of Metamorphosis pdf), is with the exception of a single specimen from adjacent South Africa known solely from Lesotho.
Other
endemic invertebates include the jumping spiders Heliophanus furvus
(figs. 26-27 at ResearchGate)
and Thyenula montana
(GBIF)
and Belippo
attenuata (Jumping
Spiders), a chummid spider Chumma lesotho (GBIF),
a wolf spider Hogna
placata (p. 81 of RBINS
pdf), a rain spider Palystes
crawshayi (Sabinet)
(BHL),
a sac spider Cheiramiona
mohalensis (GBIF),
a millipede Gnomeskelus
basuticus
(BHL),
and an earthworm Proandricus
sani (ResearchGate)
.
About 17 vascular plant species are found nowhere else including the
national flower, the Spiral Aloe Aloe
polyphylla (SANBI)
(iNaturalist).
Other endemic plants include Massonia
saniensis (Terry
Smale) (iNaturalist),
Glumicalyx lesuticus
(Rock
Garden Plant Database WM) (iNaturalist),
Felicia monocephala
(iNaturalist),
Delosperma holzbecherorum
(izahradkar.cz)
(ResearchGate),
Delosperma
parentum (Zahradnictví
Chaloupka WM), Delosperma adamantinum
(p. 35 of Klub
skalničkářů Brno WM pdf),
Hesperantha
crocopsis (GBIF)
(iNaturalist),
Hesperantha
exiliflora (JSTOR)
(BHL),
Rhynchosia
dieterlenae (JSTOR),
Gnidia singularis
(JSTOR),
Jamesbrittenia
beverlyana (JSTOR),
and Jamesbrittenia
lesutica (flickr)
(iNaturalist). Malotigena (Operation
Wildflower WM) (RHS)
is an endemic genus. Delosperma
seanii-hoganii (Hardy
Ice Plants) (flickr) has
also sometimes been considered to be the sole species in an endemic
genus, Sanianthos (SRGC).
Endemic non-vascular plants include the mosses Andreaea barbarae (IUCN) and Didymodon jackvancei (GBIF) and the liverworts Fossombronia angulifolia (Internet Archive) and Cryptomitrium oreades (ResearchGate). Lichens known only from Lesotho include Psiloparmelia arhizinosa (CNALH), Xanthoparmelia lesothoensis (BHL), and Xanthoparmelia kotisephola (GBIF).
Terrestrial ecoregions in Lesotho include the Drakensberg Montane Grasslands, Woodlands, and Forests (WWF WM) and the Drakensberg Alti-montane Grasslands and Woodlands (WWF WM). Most of the endemic plant species can be found in the Lesotho Plant Red Data List (see National Red Lists WM pdf). Further details on distributions of Lesotho's endemic moths and butterflies can be found at (Ingenta pdf).