Typhloperipatus

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Typhloperipatus
Typhloperipatus.jpg
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Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Onychophora
Family: Peripatidae
Genus: Typhloperipatus
Kemp, 1913
Species:
T. williamsoni
Binomial name
Typhloperipatus williamsoni
Kemp, 1913

Typhloperipatus is a genus of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae, containing the sole species Typhloperipatus williamsoni. [1] This genus is notable for containing the only species in the phylum Onychophora found in South Asia. [2] This species is also striking in that this velvet worm shows no trace of eyes. [3] [4]

Contents

Discovery

The species was discovered in the foothills of the Himalayas in northeastern India in 1911 and first described by Stanley Kemp in 1913. [3] [4] The species is named for Noel Williamson, a political officer at Sadiya who was murdered in 1911 along with his travelling companion Dr J.D. Gregorson, a physician working on a tea plantation. [3] These murders led to a punitive military expedition being organized by the British Indian government to the Abor region; Kemp, then an assistant superintendent at the Indian Museum at Calcutta was a zoologist assigned to this expedition. [3] [4] [5]

Kemp's assistant found the first three specimens in December 1911 near Rotung and the Dihang River gorge, where workers soon collected many more. Although the nearest known velvet worm species, from the Malay Peninsula, are typically found in dead wood, these were found mainly under large stones near the roots of trees. Subsequently some more specimens were found at the mouth of the Sireng stream and another specimen was found by the 32nd Sikh Pioneers while working between Upper Rotung and Rengin. [3] Kemp did not designate a holotype, but syntypes are deposited in the Natural History Museum of London. [1]

Morphology

This species is blind and has no eyes, an unusual trait for a velvet worm. [4] [3] The colour of the upperside is a deep umber brown with the tips of the antennae slightly paler brown. The papillae on the skin have pale tips and the underside is pale brown. Some individuals have a dark dorsal stripe. The inner jaw has a serrate edge. [3]

Females have 20 pairs of oncopods (legs); males usually have 19 pairs, but Kemp found one male with 20 pairs. The oncopods have coxal glands, four complete spinous pads on all but the last two pairs of legs (only two pads on the last pair and three on the penultimate pair), and fine setae on all pads. The feet have two distal papillae, one anterior and one posterior. [3] The minimum number of oncopod pairs found in this species (19) is the lowest number recorded in any member of the family Peripatidae. [6] [7]

Phylogeny

Although Kemp suggested that Typhloperipatus was closer to Neotropical species than to Southeast Asian species, more recent studies place Typhloperipatus close to the genus Eoperipatus of Southeast Asia. [8] Like Eoperipatus, Typhloperipatus exhibits lecithotrophic ovoviviparity; that is, mothers in both genera retain yolky eggs in their uteri. [9] Furthermore, a study of the fossil species Cretoperipatus burmiticus, embedded in Burmese amber from 100 million years ago, finds two distal foot papillae, one anterior and one posterior, placing Cretoperipatus among the Asian Peripatidae (Typhloperipatus and Eoperipatus) and distinguishing this group from all other extant Peripatidae. [10] This study also identifies Typhloperipatus as the closest extant relative of Cretoperipatus. [10] [2]

Related Research Articles

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

Peripatus is a genus of velvet worms in the Peripatidae family. The name "peripatus" is also used to refer to the Onychophora as a whole, although this group comprises many other genera besides Peripatus. The genus Peripatus is found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. Velvet worms in this genus may have as few as 24 or 25 pairs of legs or as many as 36 leg pairs. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

Macroperipatus is a genus of Neotropical velvet worms in the Peripatidae family. Velvet worms in this genus can have as few as 24 pairs of legs or as many as 42 leg pairs. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

Mesoperipatus is a monospecific genus of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family, containing a single species Mesoperipatus tholloni. It is found in Gabon, making it the only known species of velvet worm in the tropics of Africa, and the only known species of peripatid velvet worm in Africa. Females of this species have 24 to 27 pairs of legs; males have 23 or 24. This species is viviparous, but too little is known of its embryology to describe its reproductive mode in any more detail; the presence of a placenta, for example, has not been confirmed.

Speleoperipatus is a monospecific genus of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family, containing the single species Speleoperipatus spelaeus. This species is a pale greenish yellow, almost white, with 22 or 23 pairs of legs and no eyes. Specimens range from 27 mm to 34 mm in length. The minimum number of leg pairs found in this species (22) is also the minimum number found in the neotropical Peripatidae. This velvet worm is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peripatidae</span> Family of invertebrate animals

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 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 Southeast Asian genus of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. The number of legs in this genus varies within species as well as among species and ranges from 22 pairs to 25 pairs. 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. Velvet worms in this genus can have as few as 23 pairs of legs or as many as 39 leg pairs. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

Heteroperipatus is a genus of Central American velvet worms in the Peripatidae family. The number of legs in this genus varies within species as well as among species and ranges from 26 pairs to 32 pairs. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

<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. Velvet worms in this genus can have as few as 22 pairs of legs or as many as 40 leg pairs. 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.

Mantonipatus is a monospecific genus of velvet worm containing the single species Mantonipatus persiculus. Females of this species range from 8 mm to 33 mm in length, whereas males range from 8 mm to 20 mm. This species has 15 pairs of oncopods (legs) and has a limited distribution in the Southern Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia. It is found in remnant native stringybark forest.

Cerradopatus is a monospecific genus of velvet worm containing the single species Cerradopatus sucuriuensis. Males of this species have 28 or 29 pairs of legs; females have 30 to 32. This species is native to the Brazilian savannah. This species 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.

Eoperipatus butleri is a Malaysian species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family.

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

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.

Oroperipatus lankesteri is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is brownish grey and is notable for its large size, which ranges from 32 mm up to 82 mm in length. Females of this species have 37 or 38 pairs of legs; males have 33 to 35 pairs. Like other neotropical peripatid velvet worms, this species is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta. The type locality is in Ecuador.

Mongeperipatus solorzanoi, also known as Solórzano's velvet worm, is the largest known species of velvet worm and a member of the Peripatidae family. Like other Neotropical peripatid velvet worms, this species is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

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.

Mongeperipatus is a genus of velvet worms in the family Peripatidae from Costa Rica. The species in this genus are notable for their large size and for the degree of sexual dimorphism that they exhibit in the number of legs: females have 37 to 41 pairs, several more than the males, which have only 32 to 34 pairs. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.

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.

References

  1. 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.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Martin R. (2016). "Evolution: Velvet Worm Biogeography". Current Biology. 26 (19): R882–R884. Bibcode:2016CBio...26.R882S. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.067. ISSN   0960-9822. PMID   27728789.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kemp, Stanley (1914). "Onychophora. Zoological results of the Abor expedition, 1911-1912". Records of the Indian Museum. 8: 471–492. doi: 10.5962/bhl.part.1194 . S2CID   88237018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kemp, Stanley (1913). "Preliminary note on a new genus of Onychophora from the N. E. Frontier of India". Records of the Indian Museum. 9: 241–242.
  5. ↑ Mackintosh, M.A. (1945). "Dr. Stanley W. Kemp, F.R.S." (PDF). Nature. 156 (3950): 41–42.
  6. ↑ Giribet, Gonzalo; Edgecombe, Gregory D. (2020-03-03). 30. Onychophora. Princeton University Press. doi:10.1515/9780691197067-032. ISBN   978-0-691-19706-7. S2CID   240645062.
  7. ↑ Mayer, Georg (2007-04-05). "Metaperipatus inae sp. nov. (Onychophora: Peripatopsidae) from Chile with a novel ovarian type and dermal insemination". Zootaxa. 1440 (1): 21–37. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1440.1.2. ISSN   1175-5334 – via ResearchGate.
  8. ↑ Monge-Najera, Julian (1995). "Phylogeny, biogeography and reproductive trends in the Onychophora". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 114: 21–60. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00111.x – via ResearchGate.
  9. ↑ Mayer, Georg; Franke, Franziska Anni; Treffkorn, Sandra; Gross, Vladimir; de Sena Oliveira, Ivo (2015), Wanninger, Andreas (ed.), "Onychophora", Evolutionary Developmental Biology of Invertebrates 3, Vienna: Springer Vienna, pp. 53–98, doi:10.1007/978-3-7091-1865-8_4, ISBN   978-3-7091-1864-1 , retrieved 2023-02-15
  10. 1 2 Oliveira, Ivo de Sena; Bai, Ming; Jahn, Henry; Gross, Vladimir; Martin, Christine; Hammel, Jörg U.; Zhang, Weiwei; Mayer, Georg (2016). "Earliest Onychophoran in Amber Reveals Gondwanan Migration Patterns". Current Biology. 26 (19): 2594–2601. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.023 . ISSN   0960-9822.
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