Peripatus dominicae

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Peripatus dominicae
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Onychophora
Family: Peripatidae
Genus: Peripatus
Species:
P. dominicae
Binomial name
Peripatus dominicae
Pollard, 1894
Synonyms
  • Peripatus dominicaePollard, 1894
  • Peripatus dominicae dominicaePeck 1975

Peripatus dominicae is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. [1] The type locality for this species is on the Caribbean island of Dominica. [2] 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, [3] authorities now deem these subspecies to be separate species in light of the significant distances between their type localities (ranging from 115 km to 1,380 km). [2] [4]

Description

The original description of this species is based on a large sample of 86 specimens collected in Dominica and then preserved before the British zoologist Ray Lankester passed them on to E.C. Pollard for description. [5] After Pollard's original description, the French zoologist Eugène Louis Bouvier examined and described another 15 females and two males of this species. [6] More recently, the biologist V.M.S.J. Read examined and described seven specimens deposited in the Natural History Museum of London, including two with specific locality records (Prince Rupert and Laudat), using electron scanning microscopy. [7]

Females are apparently more common than males: Pollard determined the sex of 39 of her specimens, of which 31 were female and only eight were male. This species exhibits a notable degree of sexual dimorphism in the size of fully grown adults: [5] Females in this species range in size from 29 mm to 56 mm in length, while males range from 17 mm to 25 mm in length. [6] [8] This species also exhibits sexual dimorphism in the number of legs: All specimens identified as males of this species have 25 pairs of legs, whereas females can have 28 to 31 pairs of legs [6] [8] and usually have 29. [5]

The sole of each foot features four pads, except for the last pair of legs, which feature only two pads on each foot. The distal end of each foot features three papillae, two on the anterior margin and one on the posterior margin. [5] The nephridial tubercles on the fourth and fifth leg pairs are attached to the third pad on each foot. The two pregenital leg pairs in the male of this species feature crural papillae, with two papillae on each leg. [6]

Preserved specimens are usually reddish brown with a diffuse darker streak down the middle of the back and a much paler light grey or greyish yellow ventral surface. The dorsal and ventral sides of the legs match the colors of the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body. The antennae are a dark red-brown, but with the distal end much more pale. [5] The basal piece of the primary papillae has a convex conical shape with ten to twelve scale ranks. The apical piece of the primary papillae is large and spherical with about five scale ranks. [7]

Related Research Articles

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

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

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

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Epiperipatus betheli is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. The original description of this species is based on a dark brown female specimen, 34 mm long, with 30 pairs of legs. The type locality is in Guatemala.

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.

Heteroperipatus clarki is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. Females of this species have 26 to 29 pairs of legs. The original description of this species is based on a female specimen measuring 100 mm in length. The type locality is in Panama.

Oroperipatus ecuadoriensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. The original description of this species is based on a female specimen notable for its large size ; this description also reports 39 pairs of legs. The type locality is in Ecuador.

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. Female specimens range from 55 mm to 61 mm in length. The type locality is in Peru.

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.

<i>Peripatus juanensis</i> Species of velvet worm

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.

<i>Peripatus juliformis</i> Species of velvet worm

Peripatus juliformis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. The number of legs in this species ranges from 29 pairs to 34 pairs. Specimens are a very dark brown, almost black, with a paler ventral surface. Females range from 36 mm to 75 mm in length, whereas males range from 14 mm to 16 mm. The type locality is on Saint Vincent Island.

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.

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.

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 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.
  3. ↑ Peck, Stewart B. (1975). "A Review of the New World Onychophora, with the Description of a New Cavernicolous Genus and Species From Jamaica". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 82 (3–4): 341–358. doi: 10.1155/1975/98614 . ISSN   0033-2615.
  4. ↑ Oliveira, I. S.; Read, V. M. S. J.; Mayer, G. (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.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Pollard, E.C. (1893). "Notes on the Peripatus of Dominica". Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. 35: 285–293 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Bouvier, E.-L. (1905). "Monographie des Onychophores". Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie (in French). 9 (2): 1–383 [252-63] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  7. 1 2 Read, V. M. St. J. (July 1988). "The Onychophora of Trinidad, Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 93 (3): 225–57 [226, 231–33]. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1988.tb01362.x.
  8. 1 2 Monge-Nájera, Julián (1994). "Reproductive trends, habitat type and body characteristcs in velvet worms (Onychophora)". Revista de Biología Tropical. 42 (3): 611–622. ISSN   2215-2075.


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