Eoperipatus

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Eoperipatus
Eoperipatus totoro.jpg
Eoperipatus totoro
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Onychophora
Family: Peripatidae
Genus: Eoperipatus
Evans, 1901
Species

See text

Eoperipatus is a genus of velvet worms in the family Peripatidae. [1] These velvet worms have been reported from locations throughout Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. [2] This genus exhibits lecithotrophic ovoviviparity; that is, mothers in this genus retain yolky eggs in their uteri. [3]

Contents

Etymology

This genus was first described in 1901 by Richard Evans of Jesus College at the University of Oxford. He proposed this genus to contain the newly discovered species E. horsti and E. weldoni as well as the species originally described as Peripatus sumatranus. The generic name Eoperipatus is derived from an Ancient Greek combining form of Ἠώς (ēṓs), meaning "dawn," and peripatos, meaning "walking about." This name refers to the distribution of these velvet worms in the Far East. [4]

Description

The number of legs in this genus varies within species as well as among species and ranges from 22 pairs (in E. butleri ) [5] to 25 pairs (in E. horsti and E. weldoni). [4] In this genus, the crural tubercles form a single complex united by a dermal fold on each leg of two pregenital leg pairs. Males in this genus feature a single and medial anal gland opening on a pad in front of the anus. The male also features a circular pit on each quadrant of the genital pad, which is divided by a cruciform genital opening. [6] [7] [2] The female genital opening is a transverse slit. Each leg features two distal foot papillae, one anterior and one posterior. [2] [6] [4] [8]

Species

The genus contains the following described species: [2]

Eoperipatus sumatranus(Sedgwick, 1888) is considered a nomen dubium by Oliveira et al. 2012. [9]

In addition to these species, an undescribed species is known to occur in Thailand. [2] [6] Furthermore, reports of Eoperipatus in Borneo and an unidentified velvet worm in central Vietnam, north of the known distribution of Eoperipatus totoro, may represent still more undescribed species of Eoperipatus. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Peripatus</i> Genus of velvet worms

Peripatus is a genus of velvet worms in the Peripatidae family. The name "peripatus" is also used to refer to the Onychophora as a whole, although this group comprises many other genera besides Peripatus. The genus Peripatus is found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

Macroperipatus is a genus of Neotropical velvet worms in the Peripatidae family. Velvet worms in this genus can have as few as 24 pairs of legs or as many as 42 leg pairs. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

<i>Typhloperipatus</i> Genus and species of velvet worm

Typhloperipatus is a genus of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae, containing the sole species Typhloperipatus williamsoni. This genus is notable for containing the only species in the phylum Onychophora found in South Asia. This species is also striking in that this velvet worm shows no external trace of eyes, although rudimentary optical vesicles are present internally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peripatidae</span> Family of invertebrate animals

Peripatidae is a family of velvet worms. This family includes more than 90 described species distributed among 13 genera, but some authorities deem only 80 of these species to be valid. The oldest putative representatives of the family herald from Burmese amber dated to the mid-Cretaceous, around 100 million years ago, with representatives from Dominican and Baltic amber attesting to a broader distribution in the Palaeogene / Neogene; molecular variability suggests that the family's crown group may have arisen in the early Mesozoic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peripatopsidae</span> Family of invertebrate animals

Peripatopsidae is one of the two living velvet worm families. This family includes more than 140 described species distributed among 41 genera, but some authorities deem only 131 of these species to be valid. The French zoologist Eugène Louis Bouvier proposed this family in 1905 with Peripatopsis as the type genus.

<i>Epiperipatus</i> Genus of velvet worms

Epiperipatus is the most diverse genus of neotropical velvet worms in the family Peripatidae. Species in this genus are found in Central and South America. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

Heteroperipatus is a genus of Central American velvet worms in the Peripatidae family. The number of legs in this genus varies within species as well as among species and ranges from 26 pairs to 32 pairs. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

<i>Oroperipatus</i> Genus of velvet worms

Oroperipatus is a genus of Neotropical velvet worms in the family Peripatidae. Species in this genus are found in South America west of the Andes and in Mexico. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

<i>Eoperipatus totoro</i> Species of velvet worm

Eoperipatus totoro is a species of velvet worm of the family Peripatidae. This species is notable as the first velvet worm from Vietnam to be formally described. As of 2023, E. totoro remains the only species of velvet worm from Vietnam to be described.

Cerradopatus is a monospecific genus of velvet worm containing the single species Cerradopatus sucuriuensis. Males of this species have 28 or 29 pairs of legs; females have 30 to 32. This species is native to the Brazilian savannah. This species is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

Principapillatus is a monospecific genus of velvet worm containing the single species Principapillatus hitoyensis. Males of this species have 26 to 29 pairs of legs, usually 27 or 28; females have 30 to 32, usually 30 or 31. This velvet worm is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta. This species was discovered in Costa Rica.

Eoperipatus horsti is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. Authorities have designated this velvet worm as the type species for the genus Eoperipatus, because among the species originally included in this genus, this species is the only one known from specimens of both sexes. This species is found in Malaysia.

Eoperipatus butleri is a Malaysian species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family.

Eoperipatus weldoni is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This velvet worm is dark brown with pale spots and a darker line running down the middle of its back. The ventral surface is yellowish grey with small spots of brown. This species has 23 to 25 pairs of legs and can reach 65 mm in length, but the average specimen is 58 mm in length. The type locality is in West Malaysia.

Epiperipatus acacioi is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is dark purple with a bilaterally symmetric pattern on its dorsal surface and ranges from 13 mm to 47 mm in length. Males of this species have 24 to 27 pairs of legs, usually 25 or 26; females have 26 to 30, usually 27 or 28. The type locality is in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Epiperipatus barbouri is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is a dark purple, almost black, without any pattern on its dorsal surface. The ventral surface is much lighter and purplish pink. Females of this species have 30 to 34 pairs of legs. The type locality is in Grenada.

Epiperipatus hilkae is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is found in Costa Rica. This velvet worm is closely related to another species of Epiperipatus found in Costa Rica, E. isthmicola. The species E. hilkae is named in honor of the German zoologist Hilke Ruhberg for her extensive work on velvet worms.

Peripatus evelinae is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. The male of this species has 33 pairs of legs; females have 35 or 36 leg pairs. This species has more legs than any other species of Peripatus; the females of the other species have at most 34 leg pairs, and the males have at most 32. The original description of P. evelinae was based on two specimens and reported females with 32 and 34 leg pairs, but another examination of these specimens revealed a male with 33 leg pairs and a female with 35 leg pairs instead as well as numerous embryos, including females with 35 and 36 leg pairs. The male specimen is 44 mm long; the female is 65 mm long. The type locality is in Goiás, Brazil.

Mongeperipatus solorzanoi, also known as Solórzano's velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. This species is the largest known velvet worm, reaching 22 cm in length. This velvet worm is found in the Caribbean coastal forest of Costa Rica.

Mongeperipatus is a genus of velvet worms in the family Peripatidae from Costa Rica. The biologists José Pablo Barquero-González, Steven Sánchez-Vargas, and Bernal Morera-Brenes introduced this genus in 2020 to contain the newly discovered type species, M. kekoldi, together with another species, M. solorzanoi. A phylogenetic analysis using DNA sequences placed these two species in their own monophyletic clade. Furthermore, these two species share morphological characters that indicate that these species do not belong in the other genera and instead belong together in a separate genus. The genus Mongeperipatus is named in honor of the Costa Rican biologist Julián Monge-Nájera.

References

  1. Oliveira I.; Hering L. & Mayer, G. "Updated Onychophora checklist". Onychophora Website. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oliveira, Ivo de Sena; Schaffer, Stefan; Kvartalnov, Pavel V.; Galoyan, Eduard A.; Palko, Igor V.; Weck-Heimann, Andreas; Geissler, Peter; Ruhberg, Hilke; Mayer, Georg (2013). "A new species of Eoperipatus (Onychophora) from Vietnam reveals novel morphological characters for the South-East Asian Peripatidae". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 252 (4): 495–510. Bibcode:2013ZooAn.252..495O. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2013.01.001.
  3. Mayer, Georg; Franke, Franziska Anni; Treffkorn, Sandra; Gross, Vladimir; de Sena Oliveira, Ivo (2015), Wanninger, Andreas (ed.), "Onychophora", Evolutionary Developmental Biology of Invertebrates 3, Vienna: Springer Vienna, pp. 53–98, doi:10.1007/978-3-7091-1865-8_4, ISBN   978-3-7091-1864-1 , retrieved 2023-02-15
  4. 1 2 3 Evans, Richard (1901). "On two new species of Onychophora from the Siamese Malay States". Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. 44: 473–538 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  5. Bouvier, E.-L. (1905). "Monographie des Onychophores". Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie (in French). 9 (2): 1–383 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. 1 2 3 Oliveira, Ivo de Sena; Franke, Franziska Anni; Hering, Lars; Schaffer, Stefan; Rowell, David M.; Weck-Heimann, Andreas; Monge-Nájera, Julián; Morera-Brenes, Bernal; Mayer, Georg (2012-12-17). "Unexplored Character Diversity in Onychophora (Velvet Worms): A Comparative Study of Three Peripatid Species". PLOS ONE. 7 (12): e51220. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...751220O. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051220 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   3524137 . PMID   23284667.
  7. González, José Pablo Barquero; Sánchez-Vargas, Steven; Morera-Brenes, Bernal (2020-03-31). "A new giant velvet worm from Costa Rica suggests absence of the genus Peripatus (Onychophora: Peripatidae) in Central America". Revista de Biología Tropical. 68 (1): 300–320. doi:10.15517/rbt.v68i1.37675. ISSN   2215-2075.
  8. Evans, R. (1901). "Eoperipatus butleri (nov sp)". Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. 44 (176): 539-545 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  9. Oliveira, Ivo; Read, V. Morley; Mayer, Georg (2012). "A world checklist of Onychophora (velvet worms), with notes on nomenclature and status of names". ZooKeys (211): 1–70. Bibcode:2012ZooK..211....1O. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.211.3463 . PMC   3426840 . PMID   22930648.