Ooperipatellus nickmayeri

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Ooperipatellus nickmayeri
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Onychophora
Family: Peripatopsidae
Genus: Ooperipatellus
Species:
O. nickmayeri
Binomial name
Ooperipatellus nickmayeri
Oliveira & Mayer, 2017

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. [1]

Contents

Discovery

This species was first described by the biologists Ivo de Sena Oliveira and Georg Mayer in 2017 based on ten specimens collected from rotting logs and leaf litter in a small fragment of forest near the Lyell Highway in Tasmania. These specimens include a male holotype, three female paratypes, and six other specimens (five females and one male). The authors of the original description named this species for the six-year old son (Nick Mayer) of one of the authors, who suggested a stop along the road during which the authors discovered this species in 2013. [1] The holotype is deposited in the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania. [2]

Description

These velvet worms have 14 pairs of legs in both sexes, with the last pair reduced in size but used for walking. Each foot features three complete spinous pads, with the first and third pads smaller than the second. Most legs also feature a fourth fragmented pad. The nephridial tubercle on the fourth and fifth leg pairs is located in the third pad, dividing the pad into two unequal parts. Each foot features paired claws and three distal foot papillae (one anterior, one medial, and one posterior). The males of this species feature crural tubercles on leg pairs 6 through 13. These tubercles are smooth at the base, with no scales, but feature cone-shaped tips with tiny scales. [1]

These velvet worms vary in color from blue to predominantly orange-brown, with a light blue ventral surface. The antennae feature a distinctive pattern of tan or orange bands on the antennal rings. A furrow runs down the middle of the back. The dorsal integument features dermal papillae arranged into 12 complete plicae per segment. The gonopore in the male is cruciform, with the transverse slit longer than the longitudinal slit. The ovipositor in the females is large and conspicuous, with an apical genital opening in the form of a longitudinal slit. The anus is located at the terminal end of the body in both sexes. The males of this species feature a pair of anal gland openings in front of the anus. The spinous pads, the crural tubercles and the genital pad in males, and the ovipositor in females are all whitish or light orange. [1]

Notwithstanding the large body size, which distinguishes this species from others in the same genus, this species exhibits many of the traits that characterize this genus. These features include oviparous reproduction, 14 leg pairs in each sex, females with a well-developed ovipositor, males with a cruciform gonopore, and the absence of any modified head papillae or head organ. Molecular phylogenetic analysis confirms the placement of this species in the genus Ooperipatellus. [1]

This species also exhibits a set of features aside from its large size that distinguish these velvet worms from other species in this genus. These features include a distinctive color pattern, including the sequence of bands on the antennae, the number of plicae per segment, and the form and number of the crural tubercles in males. Furthermore, karyological analysis reveals a distinct karyotype for this species, with a heteromorphic pair of sex chromosomes (XY) and the greatest number of chromosomes (2n = 50 XY) reported to date for a species in the family Peripatopsidae. [1]

Related Research Articles

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

Peripatopsis is a genus of velvet worms in the Peripatopsidae family. These velvet worms are found in the KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This genus was proposed by the British zoologist Reginald I. Pocock in 1894 with Peripatopsis capensis designated as the type species.

<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.

<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

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.

<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.

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

Occiperipatoides is a monospecific genus of velvet worm containing the single species Occiperipatoides gilesii. This genus is ovoviviparous and found in Western Australia. The genus is part of the ancient phylum Onychophora that contains soft-bodied, many-legged relatives of arthropods known commonly as velvet worms.

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

Ooperipatellus is a genus of Australian and New Zealand velvet worms in the Peripatopsidae family. Species in this genus are oviparous. This genus was proposed by Hilke Ruhberg in 1985, with Ooperipatellus insignis designed at the type species. This genus is notable as the only one in which velvet worms have no more than 14 pairs of legs:

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.

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.

Paraperipatus keiensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. Females of this species have 24 or 25 pairs of legs; males have 22 or 23 leg pairs. The type locality is in Kai Besar in Indonesia.

Peripatopsis sedgwicki is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. Also known as the Tsitsikamma velvet worm, this species has a narrow geographic distribution in South Africa but is especially abundant in the indigenous forest of the Tsitsikamma mountains. Recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that Peripatopsis sedgwicki is a species complex that contains three clades, each with a distinct geographic distribution, including at least one clade that may represent a novel species.

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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oliveira, Ivo de Sena; Mayer, Georg (2017-06-01). "A new giant egg-laying onychophoran (Peripatopsidae) reveals evolutionary and biogeographical aspects of Australian velvet worms". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 17 (2): 375–391. doi:10.1007/s13127-016-0321-3. ISSN   1618-1077. S2CID   10859202.
  2. ↑ 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.
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