The African Spurred tortoise and threats of extinction.

The African spurred tortoise is one of Nigeria’s most endangered species.It is vigorously hunted and used for several cultural and commercial purposes. A few surviving ones are preserved in protected areas such as the national parks and zoos .

According to an ARKive report, The African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata) is the largest tortoise of the African mainland, and is surpassed in size only by the giant island species from Aldabra and Galápagos . This desert-dwelling tortoise is well camouflaged by its overall sandy coloration, having thick golden to yellow-brown skin and a brownish carapace . The African spurred tortoise has a broad, oval carapace which displays prominent serrations at the front and back margins and conspicuous growth rings on each scute, which become particularly marked with age . Large, overlapping scales cover the front surface of the forelimbs, while the hind surface of the thigh bears two or three large conical spurs, from which the species earns its name. African spurred tortoise populations have declined rapidly in the face of habitat loss, particularly in Mali, Chad, Niger and Ethiopia, largely as a result of urbanisation, overgrazing by domestic livestock and desertification. Several ethnic groups in the Sahel, especially nomadic tribes, eat the African spurred tortoise. The already vulnerable position of the species has been compounded in recent years by an increase in capture for international trade, as pets and for body parts reportedly used to make longevity potions in Japan.  It is primarily juvenile African spurred tortoises that are captured for trade and, as this species takes 15 years to reach maturity, there is grave concern that generations in the wild may be unable to renew themselves, resulting in extinction of local population.

DNA BARCODING TO INCREASE AUTHENTICITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

The need and use of medicinal plants in Nigeria is growing at a tremendous rate. Whether for food or as medicines for ailments ranging from common cold, malaria and even  more complicated health problems such as hypertension and diabetes, Nigerians of all ages and classes find it easier to consume the herbal remedies produced from medicinal plant.

Picture of Herbarium at the National Parks Service, Abuja, Nigeria. Taken by Comfort Ndefo

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines traditional medicine as the

sum total of all the knowledge and practical, whether explicable or not, used in the diagnosis, prevention and elimination of physical, mental or social imbalance and relying exclusively on practical experience and observation handed down from generation to generation, whether verbally or in writing. Traditional medicine might also be considered as a solid amalgamation of dynamic medical know how and ancestral experience.

 These traditional medicines are adjudged as potent by their users.  However , oftentimes, problems arise from consumption of  either overdose, under dose or even some natural toxins within the plant due lack of scientific information of the components of the plant.

According to, a postdoctoral fellow and College of Arts & Sciences alumni, Dr. Allan Showalter, “Misidentifications or adulteration of authenticated materials can lead to reduced effectiveness of herbal products or accidental poisonings. Barcoding provides a way to confirm the identification of raw plant material and establish a level of quality assurance.

The DNA Barcoding is an exciting new tool for taxonomic research. The   DNA barcode is a very short, standardized DNA sequence in a well-known gene. It provides a way to identify the species to which a plant belongs.

Barcoding is generating a global, open access library of reference barcode sequence which enables non-taxonomists to identify specimens.

Roan Antelope Hunted by Poachers

The Roan Antelope is one of the animals commonly hunted by poachers in Nigeria. So many are being killing and traded by the bush meat merchants . Skin and Head of Roan Antelope Unfortunately , sometimes the animal is already killed before the security operatives of the National parks get there. The Roan Antelope formerly occurred very widely in the savanna woodlands and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa, but has been eliminated from large parts of its former range. Remarkably, the species remains locally common in West and Central Africa, while in East and southern Africa, the traditional antelope strongholds, the species is now very rare. The species is now locally extinct in Burundi, Eritrea and possibly Gambia. It was also eliminated from Swaziland and later reintroduced to the privately owned Mkhaya Nature Reserve. The Roan Antelope has been eliminated from large parts of its former range because of poaching and loss of habitat to the expansion of settlement, and now survives mainly in and around protected areas and in other areas with low densities of people and livestock. Its persistence in West Africa is probably due to its ability to withstand illegal hunting pressures better than many other large herbivores, especially the more water dependant and more sedentary species which are more exposed to poaching (East 1999; Chardonnet and Crosmary in press).

West African Crowned Crane gradually diminishing in Nigeria.

The West African Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina)is number 58 on the Nigerian list of priority endangered species.It forms part of the documented species in  the global open access library being generated by the DNA barcoding initiative.