| Paraperipatus keiensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Onychophora |
| Family: | Peripatopsidae |
| Genus: | Paraperipatus |
| Species: | P. keiensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Paraperipatus keiensis Horst, 1923 | |
Paraperipatus keiensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. [1] Females of this species have 24 or 25 pairs of legs; males have 22 or 23 leg pairs. [2] [3] [4] [5] The type locality is in Kai Besar in Indonesia. [6]
This species was first described in 1923 by the zoologist Rutger Horst. He based the original description of this species on ten specimens (six females and four males). These specimens were found in 1922 under stones and fallen branches in the woods (at an altitude of about 300 m) on Gunung Daab, a mountain on Kai Basar (Great Kai island) in Indonesia. [3] [7]
Horst reports that his female specimens have 24 or 25 pairs of legs, with three specimens featuring each number, but the males have 22 or 23 leg pairs. [3] The last pair of legs are shorter but also have claws. [2] Each foot has three spinous pads. The nephridial tubercle on the fourth and fifth leg pairs are connected with the proximal pad. [3] Each foot has three distal papillae that are notably long and slim. [2]
The females range from 27 mm to 48 mm in length and from 3 mm to 5 mm in width, whereas the males range from 25 mm to 33 mm in length and from 2 mm to 2.5 mm in width. [2] [5] When preserved in an ethanol solution, the dorsal surface of this velvet worm is green-black with yellow-brown spots, and the ventral surface is a light greyish blue, slightly speckled, with a row of large whitish spots along the midline between each pair of legs. The inner jaw blade features seven to nine accessory teeth in addition to the main tooth with no diastema. [2] [3]
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 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.
Euperipatoides leuckartii is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is ovoviviparous and has 15 pairs of oncopods (legs). Females of this species range from 5 mm to 40 mm in length, whereas males range from 4 mm to 29 mm. The type locality of this species is Mount Tomah, New South Wales, Australia.
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.
Cephalofovea cameroni is a species of ovoviviparous velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species has 15 pairs of oncopods (legs) and lives in rotting logs and leaf litter. The type locality is Rydal, New South Wales, Australia. Like all members of the genus Cephalofovea, both sexes of C. cameroni have a furrow on the head, between the antennae, which the male everts to carry his spermatophore to the female.
Paraperipatus ceramensis is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is grey-green with rust speckles. 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 novaebritanniae is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species is black with brown-yellow spots. Females of this species have 24 pairs of legs; males have 22 or 23 leg pairs. Females range from 14 mm to 55 mm in length, whereas males range from 14 mm to 26 mm. The type locality is in New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
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 of this species range from 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 green-blue. Females of this species have 22 to 28 pairs of legs; males have 21 or 22 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 Western New Guinea, 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 Western New Guinea, others recognize them as two separate species.
Paraperipatus vanheurni is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species ranges from pale blue or lilac to dark purple in color. Females of this species have 25 to 27 pairs of legs; males have 21. This species ranges from 15 mm to 60 mm in length. The type locality is in Western New Guinea, Indonesia.
Peripatopsis balfouri is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 18 pairs of clawed legs. Also known as the blue velvet worm, this species ranges from 9 mm to 22 mm in length. The type locality is in South Africa.
Peripatopsis capensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 18 pairs of legs: 17 pregenital leg pairs with claws plus one strongly reduced last pair without claws or spinous pads. Females of this species range from 9 mm to 70 mm in length, whereas males range from 6 mm to 54 mm. The native range of this species is limited to the Cape Peninsula of South Africa.
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 using molecular data finds that Peripatopsis sedgwicki as traditionally understood based on morphology is a species complex that contains four different species: P. sedgwicki s.s., P. orientalis, P. collarium, and P. margaritarius.
Peripatopsis overbergiensis, the Overberg velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species usually has 19 pairs of legs: 18 pregenital leg pairs plus one last pair that is strongly reduced and without claws or spinous pads. Some individuals, however, have only 18 leg pairs. This species is limited to the Overberg region of South Africa.
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.
Opisthopatus camdebooi is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. Also known as the Camdeboo velvet worm, this species is endemic to the Camdeboo National Park in South Africa. This species is notable for adapting to an unlikely environment for the survival of velvet worms. This species was found in soil 30 cm beneath the surface in the Valley of Desolation in Camdeboo National Park in the Great Karoo, an arid region devoid of forests. Over millions of years, this velvet worm apparently adapted to an increasingly arid Karoo basin by taking refuge at higher altitudes and adopting a mode of life underground but near the surface. This species is the first velvet worm discovered in South Africa with such a near-surface mode of life.
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