Peripatopsis is a genus of velvet worms in the Peripatopsidae family.[1][2] These velvet worms are found in the KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.[3] This genus was proposed by the British zoologist Reginald I. Pocock in 1894 with Peripatopsis capensis designated as the type species.[4]
| Peripatopsis | |
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| Illustration of the oncopods (legs) of Peripatopsis capensis | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Onychophora |
| Family: | Peripatopsidae |
| Genus: | Peripatopsis Pocock, 1894 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
Description
editThe number of legs in this genus ranges from as few as 16 pairs (e.g., in P. clavigera)[5] to as many as 25 pairs (in P. moseleyi) and varies within species when the number is greater than 18 pairs.[3] Velvet worms in this genus feature a last pair of legs (the genital pair) that is rudimentary or reduced in size, mainly in males.[3] The feet in this genus feature three distal leg papillae: two anterior and one posterior.[6] The gonopore in the male is cross-shaped but in the female takes the form of a longitudinal slit.[3]
Reproduction
editThis 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.[7] Eggs are fertilized through dermal insemination.[3] Males place spermatophores on the skin of females, which allows the entry of sperm at the point of contact. Embryonic development in this genus takes 12 to 13 months, during which the mother contains up to 20 embryos, all at about the same stage of development. The young are born alive tail first, one or two at a time, all within a short period of time. The young resemble adults in form but are smaller.[6]
Species
editThe genus Peripatopsis consists of the following species:
- Peripatopsis aereus Daniels & Nieto Lawrence, 2024
- Peripatopsis alba Lawrence, 1931 — white cave velvet worm
- Peripatopsis balfouri (Sedgwick, 1885)
- Peripatopsis birgeri Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013
- Peripatopsis bolandi Daniels et al., 2013
- Peripatopsis capensis (Grube, 1866)
- Peripatopsis cederbergiensis Daniels et al., 2013
- Peripatopsis clavigera Purcell, 1899 — Knysna velvet worm
- Peripatopsis edenensis Barnes et al., 2020
- Peripatopsis ferox Barnes et al., 2020
- Peripatopsis hamerae Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013
- Peripatopsis intermedia Hutchinson, 1928
- Peripatopsis janni Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013
- Peripatopsis lawrencei McDonald et al., 2012
- Peripatopsis leonina Purcell, 1899 — Lion's Hill velvet worm
- Peripatopsis mellaria Barnes et al., 2020
- Peripatopsis mira Barnes et al., 2020
- Peripatopsis moseleyi (Wood-Mason, 1879)
- Peripatopsis overbergiensis McDonald et al., 2012 — Overberg velvet worm
- Peripatopsis polychroma Grobler et al., 2023
- Peripatopsis purpureus Daniels et al., 2013
- Peripatopsis sedgwicki Purcell, 1899 — Tsitsikamma velvet worm
- Peripatopsis storchi Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013
- Peripatopsis tulbaghensis Barnes et al., 2020
References
edit- ^ Oliveira I. S.; Hering L.; Mayer, G. "Updated Onychophora checklist". Onychophora Website. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e Ruhberg, Hilke; Daniels, Savel R. (2013-05-24). "Morphological assessment supports the recognition of four novel species in the widely distributed velvet worm Peripatopsis moseleyi sensu lato (Onychophora : Peripatopsidae)". Invertebrate Systematics. 27 (2): 131–145. doi:10.1071/IS12069. ISSN 1447-2600. S2CID 86036034.
- ^ Pocock, R. I. (1894). "Contributions to our Knowledge of the Arthropod Fauna of the West Indies.-Part III. Diplopoda and Malacopoda, with a Supplement on the Arachnida of the Class Pedipalpi". Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology. 24 (157): 473–544 [519]. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1894.tb02494.x. ISSN 0368-2935.
- ^ Barnes, Aaron; Reiss, Till; Daniels, Savel R. (2020). "Systematics of the Peripatopsis clavigera species complex (Onychophora : Peripatopsidae) reveals cryptic cladogenic patterning, with the description of five new species". Invertebrate Systematics. 34 (6): 569–590. doi:10.1071/IS19071. ISSN 1445-5226. S2CID 221666417.
- ^ a b Hamer, M.L.; Samways, M.J.; Ruhberg, H. (1997). "A review of the Onychophora of South Africa, with discussion of their conservation". Annals of the Natal Museum. 38 (1): 283–312.
- ^ 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
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