Eoperipatus totoro

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Eoperipatus totoro
Eoperipatus totoro.jpg
First known specimen of Eoperipatus totoro (in Vietnam)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Onychophora
Family: Peripatidae
Genus: Eoperipatus
Species:
E. totoro
Binomial name
Eoperipatus totoro
Oliveira et al., 2013

Eoperipatus totoro is a species of velvet worm of the family Peripatidae. [1] This species is notable as the first velvet worm from Vietnam to be formally described. [2] As of 2024, E. totoro remains the only species of velvet worm from Vietnam to be described. [3]

Contents

Discovery

Pavel V. Kvartalnov from the Lomonosov Moscow State University found the first specimen of E. totoro while looking under stones in the Crocodile Lakes area of Cát Tiên National Park in Vietnam with Eduard A. Galoyan and Igor V. Palko from the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre in November 2007. [3] [4] Vietnamese researchers Thai Dran Bai and Nguyen Duc Anh first described this species in 2010, [5] but a team led by the Brazilian zoologist Ivo de Sena Oliveira from the University of Leipzig published the first formal species description in 2013, including data from scanning electron microscopy and molecular analysis (mitochondrial COI and 12S rRNA sequences). [2] This team described this species based on two male specimens, including a holotype collected by the German zoologist Peter Geissler of the Alexander Koenig Research Museum in 2009, and five females, including two paratypes collected by Kvartalnov in 2008. [2] Although this species remains the only velvet worm described from Vietnam, a report of another velvet worm found in another part of Vietnam indicates that at least one other species in that country remains undescribed. [2]

Etymology

The specific name totoro was suggested by Kvartalnov, Galoyan, and Palko, after the titular character in the Japanese animated film My Neighbor Totoro . In this film, Totoro uses a vehicle (the Catbus) that resembles a velvet worm. [2] Kvartanov and his colleagues watched this film on the evening of their discovery of the first specimen, which reminded them of the Catbus. [4]

Habitat and behavior

These velvet worms have permeable skin that readily dries out, so they spend most of their lives inside moist soil, in rotting logs, or under rocks. [6] This species is found mainly during the rainy season, which runs from November to June in Vietnam. [2] Like other velvet worms, E. totoro can spit out jets of sticky adhesive fluid from two dorsal appendages to capture small prey; this "glue" is a mixture of proteins in which the prey becomes entangled. [6]

Description

This species can reach 65 mm (2.6 in.) in length. This dorsal surface of this species is dark brown with a darker midline. The ventral surface is brownish pink, with an alternating pattern of bright spots along the midline. Females have 24 pairs of legs; males have 23 pairs of legs. The ventral surface of the legs are pink, and the first and last leg pairs are reduced in size. The inner and outer jaw blades each feature a main tooth and two accessory teeth, and the inner blade also features 11 to 13 denticles. [2]

The dorsal primary papillae each feature an apical piece and a basal piece separated by a constriction. The basal piece is cylindrical with an asymmetric distribution of scales (seven scale ranks on the lateral sides, but eight or nine ranks elsewhere). The apical piece is spherical with an asymmetric distribution of scales (five to seven anterior scale ranks but only one or two posterior ranks). The sensory bristle is thorn-shaped and located toward the posterior side of the apical piece. [2]

On most legs, the feet feature four spinous pads and a fragmented fifth pad. The first two and the last three leg pairs lack the fifth pad, and the last leg pair lacks the fourth pad as well. The nephridial tubercle on the fourth and fifth leg pairs appears between the third and fourth pads and indents the third pad. Each foot features two distal papillae, one anterior and one posterior. [2]

The genital opening is located between the penultimate pair of legs. In the female, this opening is a transverse slit, but in the male, this opening is cruciform with four circular pits on the genital pad. The male features a single opening for the anal gland on a large pad between the last pair of legs as well as crural complexes on the two pregenital leg pairs. [2]

This species shares many traits with other species of Eoperipatus. These characteristics include two distal papillae on each foot (one anterior and one posterior), a cruciform genital opening in the male, and a transverse slit for the female genital opening. [2] [7] Furthermore, like other species in this genus, E. totoro features a single opening for the anal gland in front of the anus and crural tubercles forming a single complex on each leg of the two pregenital leg pairs. [2] [8]

Other traits distinguish E. totoro from the other described species of Eoperipatus: E. butleri , E. horsti , and E. weldoni , which are considered valid species, and E. sumatranus, which is considered a nomen dubium . [3] For example, E. totoro differs from these other species in the shape of the apical piece on its dorsal primary papillae. This piece is spherical in E. totoro rather than conical (as in E. butleri), cylindrical (as in E. sumatranus), or variable in shape (as in E. horsti or E. weldoni). Furthermore, in E. totoro, the nephridial tubercle in the fourth and fifth leg pairs is located between the third and fourth spinous pads rather than in the middle of the fourth pad (as in E. butleri, E. sumatranus, and E. weldoni) or at the proximal border of the fourth pad (as in E. horsti). Other diagnostic features of E. totoro include distinct types of scales on the ventral side of the body, the inner structure of the circular pits on the male genital pad, and the position and size of the anal gland pads in males. [2]

Related Research Articles

<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 contains 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. This species is also notable for featuring males with the minimum number of legs recorded in any velvet worm in the family Peripatidae.

<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.

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

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

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

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<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.

Metaperipatus is a genus of velvet worms in the family Peripatopsidae that contains two species found in Chile, including Metaperipatus inae. This genus was created by the American zoologist Austin Hobart Clark in 1913 to contain the type species, M. blainvillei. Authorities believe M. blainvillei is a species complex, however, and some consider M. blainvillei a nomen dubium.

Paraperipatus is a genus of velvet worms in the family Peripatopsidae. This genus exhibits matrotrophic viviparity, that is, mothers in this genus retain eggs in their uteri and supply nourishment to their embryos, but without any placenta. Species in this genus are found in New Guinea and the surrounding islands, including the Maluku achipelago.

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 descriptions 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 cratensis is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. This species is found in northeastern Brazil. This velvet worm is notable as a small species of Epiperipatus with many legs.

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.

Oroperipatus lankesteri is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This velvet worm is notable for its large size, reaching 82 mm in length. This species is known only from its type locality in the northern Pacific lowlands of Ecuador.

Oroperipatus peruvianus is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. Males of this species have 34 pairs of legs; females have 36 or 37 pairs. This velvet worm is found in Peru.

Peripatus dominicae is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. The type locality for this species is on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Although the Canadian zoologist Stewart Peck introduced the name Peripatus dominicae dominicae in 1975 to distinguish the original species from other subspecies then assigned to P. dominicae, authorities now deem these subspecies to be separate species in light of the significant distances between their type localities.

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.

Ooperipatellus nickmayeri is a species of oviparous velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is larger than any other in the genus Ooperipatellus. With a body size exceeding 60 mm in females and 30 mm in males, these velvet worms can be more than twice as long as other species of this genus.

Epiperipatus hyperbolicus is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. This velvet worm is known only from its type locality in the state of Alagoas in Brazil. The species name refers to the unusually large apical piece on the primary papillae on this velvet worm. This distinctive apical piece is notable for its size and spherical shape. The males of this species have 23 pairs of legs; females have 24 or 25 pairs.

Epiperipatus titanicus is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. This velvet worm is known only from its type locality in the state of Alagoas in Brazil. The species name refers to the large size of its females and its numerous legs. This species features more legs than any other Brazilian species of velvet worm.

References

  1. ↑ Oliveira I.; Hering L. & Mayer, G. "Updated Onychophora checklist". Onychophora Website. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 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. 1 2 3 Oliveira, Ivo de Sena (2023-11-16). "An updated world checklist of velvet worms (Onychophora) with notes on nomenclature and status of names". ZooKeys (1184): 133–260. Bibcode:2023ZooK.1184..133O. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1184.107286 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   10680090 . PMID   38023768.
  4. 1 2 Pavel Kvartalnov (24 November 2007). "About Totoro [in Russian]". livejournal.com. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Thai Dran Bai; Nguyen Duc Anh (2010). "Discovery of Eoperipatus sp. (Peripatidae), the first representative of Onychophora in Vietnam". Academia Journal of Biology (Hanoi). 32 (4): 36–39.
  6. 1 2 Douglas Main (21 August 2013). "New Glue-Spitting Velvet Worm Found in Vietnam". livescience.com. TechMedia Network. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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 [18]. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...751220O. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051220 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   3524137 . PMID   23284667.
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