Solifugae

More than 1000 species of Solifugae are known from around the world. South Africa has a rich fauna of Solifugae represented by 146 species in six families. Of these species 107 (71 %) are endemic to South Africa. The South African fauna represents 16 % of the world's fauna.

Solifugids tend to be more common in the warm and arid regions of the country and twice as many species are found in the western and northern half of Southern Africa than in the east. The highest number of species has been recorded from the Northern Cape (81), Western Cape (41) and Eastern Cape and Northern Province each with 28. Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal each have 15 species, Gauteng 10, North West Province seven and the Free State five.
 
No sun spiders are protected. They are difficult to keep in captivity and are therefore not popular in the pet trade. They might however be endangered by pollution and habitat destruction. At present 24 species are known to occur in the National Parks.

More information on the Solifugae of South Africa are available from the following article:

Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. 1993. Sunspiders, some interesting facts. African Wildlife 47(3):120-123.

Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S., González Reyes, A.X., & Harvey, M. 2006. A check-list the Solifugae (sun-spiders) of South Africa (Arachnida, Solifugae). African Plant Protection 12: 70-92. (pdf)

Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S & González Reyes, A.X. 2006. South African National Survey (SANSA): Solifugae (sun-spiders) of the national parks and reserves of South Africa (Arachnida, Solifugae). Koedoe 49: 29-38. (pdf)