Peripatoides indigo, the indigo velvet worm, is a velvet worm of the family Peripatopsidae. The Māori name for the velvet worm is ngaokeoke, from the Māori word 'ngaoki', to crawl.
Peripatoides is a genus of velvet worms in the family Peripatopsidae, whose species are found in New Zealand. Like all velvet worms, these animals are nocturnal hunters that spit glue to trap their prey. Species of Peripatoides have 14, 15 or 16 pairs of legs. This genus exhibits lecithotrophic ovoviviparity; that is, mothers in this genus produce and retain yolky eggs in their uteri. The eggs are fertilized internally, and babies develop inside their mother until large enough to be born, in batches of 4-6, as colourless miniatures of the parents. These live-bearing Peripatoides have dermal-haemocoelic sperm transfer - which means sperm dissolve holes in the skin of the female to enter the body (haemolymph) anywhere on the body wall of the female.
Peripatoides suteri is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species is ovoviviparous, has 16 pairs of legs, and is endemic to New Zealand. These velvet worms range in size from 14 mm to 90 mm.
Peripatidae is a family of velvet worms. The oldest putative representatives of the family herald from Burmese amber dated to the mid-Cretaceous, around 100 Ma, 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.
Peripatopsidae is one of the two living velvet worm families.
Ooperipatellus is a genus of Australian and New Zealand velvet worms in the Peripatopsidae family. Species in this genus are oviparous. Most species in this genus have 14 pairs of legs, but O. nanus has only 13 pairs, which is the minimum number found in the phylum Onychophora. Velvet worms in this genus are among the smallest known, with adults often only 10 to 20 millimeters long. Morphological and molecular data indicate that this genus is a monophyletic group.
Metaperipatus is a genus of velvet worms in the family Peripatopsidae that includes the species Metaperipatus inae. Males of this species have 20 pairs of legs; females have 22 pairs. This species is a dark grayish blue in color, with large orange/red spots. When walking, females of this species can be as long as 85 mm, and males can be as long as 60 mm. The type locality is in central Chile.
Tasmanipatus barretti, the giant velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. It is the sole species in the genus Tasmanipatus and is ovoviviparous.
Peripatoides kawekaensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species is ovoviviparous and has 15 pairs of legs. The type locality is in New Zealand's North Island.
Peripatus danicus is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. Females of this species have 31 to 33 pairs of legs; males have 26 to 28. Females range from 26 mm to 45 mm in length, whereas males range from 9 mm to 21 mm. The type locality is in Saint Thomas Island.
Peripatus juanensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family discovered in Puerto Rico in 1900. As of 2018, it is the only velvet worm found in Puerto Rico. Females of this species have 31 or 32 pairs of legs; males have 27.
Ooperipatellus insignis is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. Females of this species range from 5 mm to 39 mm in length, while males range from 4 mm to 30 mm in length. This species has 14 pairs of legs and is found in Victoria, Australia.
Ooperipatellus nanus is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the South Island.
Ooperipatus oviparus is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. Females of this species range from 4 mm to 60 mm in length, whereas males range from 4 mm to 20 mm. This species lays eggs and has 15 pairs of legs with claws. It is found in Victoria, Australia.
Paraperipatus ceramensis is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is greenish gray with brownish spots. Females of this species have 21 or 22 pairs of legs and range from 13 mm to 55 mm in length. The type locality is in Seram, Indonesia.
Paraperipatus papuensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species is a pale greenish blue. Females of this species may have as few as 21 pairs of legs or as many as 29 pairs, exhibiting the greatest intraspecific variation in leg number found in any peripatopsid species. Males have 21 to 27 leg pairs. The maximum number of leg pairs recorded in this species (29) is also the maximum number of leg pairs found in the family Peripatopsidae. Females range from 22 mm to 83 mm in length, whereas males range from 19 mm to 45 mm. The type locality is in Western New Guinea, Indonesia.
Paraperipatus lorentzi is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species is a dark greenish blue. The male of this species has 21 pairs of legs; females have 22 to 28 pairs of legs. Whereas the original description of this species records 19 mm as the length of a male specimen, females range from 33 mm to 60 mm in length. The type locality is in the Arfak mountains of West Papua, Indonesia. The validity of this species is uncertain: Although some authorities deem P. lorentzi to be a junior synonym of P. papuensis, a similar species also found in the Arfak mountains, others recognize them as two separate species.
Peripatopsis balfouri is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 18 pairs of clawed legs. Specimens range from 9 mm to 22 mm in length. The type locality is in South Africa.
Peripatopsis moseleyi is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. Males of this species have 20 to 24 pairs of legs with claws ; females have 19 to 23 pairs of legs with claws. Females range from 11 mm to 75 mm in length, whereas males range from 9 mm to 50 mm. The type locality is in South Africa.
Peripatopsis clavigera, the Knysna velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 16 pairs of legs. Specimens of this species range from 4 mm to 17 mm in length. Peripatopsis clavigera is found in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests of South Africa.
