The National Collection of Nematodes was established in 1955 by the late Prof Juan Heyns during his tenure at the Plant Protection Research Institute. The collection was started as a reference source due to the economic significance of nematodes in agriculture. Since then, the collection has grown substantially and is now the largest nematode reference collection in Africa. It currently houses 168 528 specimens, preserved on 42 132 microscope slides, representing 314 genera and 1 395 species of free-living, plant-parasitic and entomophathogenic nematodes from various parts of the world. Over 7 000 type specimens are also housed here, including 422 holotypes and 6 771 paratypes. Housed separately within the Nematology Unit are two collections, namely the Meloidogyne and Juan Heyns Collections.
The Meloidogyne collection was established in 1981 and consists of 14 750 slide-mounted specimens from various countries. A survey undertaken in the 1980s to establish the distribution of Meloidogyne in South Africa culminated in a monograph on Meloidogyne in South Africa published in 1991. The specimens collected during this survey are deposited in the Meloidogyne collection.
This collection, previously known as the Rand Afrikaans University Collection, was established by the late Prof Juan Heyns during his time at the university. Now known as the Juan Heyns Collection, it is housed and curated as part of the NCN. This comprehensive collection contains 7 300 slides, representing about 21 900 specimens of plant-, as well as free-living and aquatic nematodes.
Enquiries: Dr Mariette Marais
