Eoperipatus butleri

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Eoperipatus butleri
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Onychophora
Family: Peripatidae
Genus: Eoperipatus
Species:
E. butleri
Binomial name
Eoperipatus butleri
Evans, 1901

Eoperipatus butleri is a Malaysian species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

Eoperipatus butleri was described by Richard Evans in 1901, from a single female specimen discovered by A. M. Butler in the Larut Hills of West Malaysia. The generic name Eoperipatus is derived from an Ancient Greek combining form of ēṓs, meaning "dawn", and peripatos, meaning "walking about". The specific name butleri is in honour of its discoverer. [2] Although some have suggested that E. butleri is a junior synonym of E. weldoni , [3] other authorities maintain that E. butleri is valid as a different species, [1] [4] citing the significant distance (over 300 km) between the type localities of these two species. [5]

Description

The dorsal surface is dark brown with pale spots and a darker brown mid-dorsal line extending from the first pair of oncopods (legs) to the anus. The ventral surface is slightly lighter brown than the dorsal surface. The type specimen was 52 mm in length and 6 mm in width. The female of this species has 24 pairs of legs, [2] but the male has only 22 leg pairs. [3]

Related Research Articles

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

Eoperipatus totoro is a species of velvet worm of the family Peripatidae discovered in Vietnam in 2007. As of 2013, it is the only velvet worm known from Vietnam. The specific name is derived from caterpillar-like Catbus from the Japanese animated film My Neighbor Totoro. It has a distinct feature from other worms in having uniquely shaped hairs on its body surface. Its ability to spit out nets of sticky glue from its appendages is used for catching prey. Like other velvet worms in this genus, this species exhibits lecithotrophic ovoviviparity; that is, mothers in this genus retain yolky eggs in their uteri.

Epiperipatus imthurni is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. This species ranges from light orange or yellowish brown to a dark brown on its dorsal surface; the ventral surface is a lighter orangeish shade of the same color. The type locality is in Guyana. No males have been recorded from this species. Females can reach a large size, up to 2.25 g in weight, and range from 25 mm up to 96 mm in length. They have 29 to 32 pairs of legs, usually 30 or 31. Females from Trinidad were shown to reproduce via parthenogenesis; the only velvet worm known to do so.

Eoperipatus horsti is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is brown with pale spots and a darker line running down the middle of its back. Females of this species have 24 or 25 pairs of legs; males have 23 or 24, usually 23. The males of this species can reach 40 mm in length, and the females can reach 46 mm in length, but the average specimen is 34 mm in length. The type locality is in West Malaysia.

Eoperipatus weldoni is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This velvet worm is dark brown with pale spots and a darker line running down the middle of its back. The ventral surface is yellowish grey with small spots of brown. This species has 23 to 25 pairs of legs and can reach 65 mm in length, but the average specimen is 58 mm in length. The type locality is in West Malaysia.

Epiperipatus acacioi is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is dark purple with a bilaterally symmetric pattern on its dorsal surface and ranges from 13 mm to 47 mm in length. Males of this species have 24 to 27 pairs of legs, usually 25 or 26; females have 26 to 30, usually 27 or 28. The type locality is in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Epiperipatus adenocryptus is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is brown with a series of light brown arcs on each side forming a series of circles down its dorsal surface. Males of this species have 26 or 27 pairs of legs, usually 27; females have 28 to 30, usually 29. The type locality is in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Epiperipatus barbouri is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is a dark purple, almost black, without any pattern on its dorsal surface. The ventral surface is much lighter and purplish pink. Females of this species have 30 to 34 pairs of legs. The type locality is in Grenada.

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 simoni is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is dark brown without any pattern on its dorsal surface. Females of this species range from 40 mm to 68 mm in length and have 28 to 32 pairs of legs. The type locality is in Venezuela.

Epiperipatus torrealbai is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatidae. This species is dark reddish brown without any pattern on its dorsal surface. The female of this species has 31 pairs of legs. The type locality is in Venezuela.

Epiperipatus vespucci is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is dark with a complex pattern on its dorsal surface. The male of this species has 30 pairs of legs; females have 33 or 34. The type locality is in Colombia.

Epiperipatus isthmicola is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is a dark brown, almost black, without any pattern on its dorsal surface. Females of this species have 29 to 32 pairs of legs; males have 26 or 27. Females range from 20 mm to 73 mm in length, whereas males range from 20 mm to 48 mm. The type locality is in Costa Rica.

Epiperipatus lewisi is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species varies from grey to dark reddish brown on its dorsal surface and has 34 to 36 pairs of legs. The type locality is in Jamaica.

Macroperipatus guianensis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. The male of this species has 24 pairs of legs; females have 27 or 28 leg pairs, usually 28. This species ranges from 30 mm to 80 mm in length. The type locality is in Guyana.

Oroperipatus omeyrus is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. This species is blackish red on its dorsal surface but lighter and brownish on its ventral surface. The original description of this species is based on female specimens with 24 to 26 pairs of legs and an embryo with 22 pairs of legs. The females range from 16 mm to 22 mm in length. The type locality is in Peru.

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 dominicae is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. Males of this species have 25 pairs of legs; females can have 28 to 31 pairs of legs, but usually have 29. 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. The original description of preserved specimens report that this species is usually reddish brown with a diffuse darker streak down the middle of the back, with a much paler "light grey or greyish yellow" ventral surface. 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 Dominica.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Oliveira I. S.; Hering L. & Mayer, G. "Updated Onychophora checklist". Onychophora Website. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 Evans, R. (1901). "Eoperipatus butleri (nov sp)". Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. 44 (176): 539-545 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  3. 1 2 Bouvier, E.-L. (1905). "Monographie des Onychophores". Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie (in French). 9 (2): 1–383 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. Oliveira Ide S, Schaffer S, Kvartalnov PV, Galoyan EA, Palko IV, Weck-Heimann A, Geissler P, Ruhbergh H, Mayer G (2013). "A new species of Eoperipatus (Onychophora) from Vietnam reveals novel morphological characters for the South-East Asian Peripatidae". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 252 (4): 495–510. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2013.01.001.
  5. 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. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.211.3463 . PMC   3426840 . PMID   22930648.