''Peripatopsis'' is a genus of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
n
velvet worms
Onychophora (from grc, ονυχής, , "claws"; and , , "to carry"), commonly known as velvet worms (due to their velvety texture and somewhat wormlike appearance) or more ambiguously as peripatus (after the first described genus, ''Peripatus' ...
in the
Peripatopsidae
Peripatopsidae is one of the two living velvet worm families.
Description
The Peripatopsidae exhibit relatively many characteristics that are perceived as original or "primitive" with respect to the Peripatidae. The number of leg pairs in this f ...
family.
The number of legs in this genus ranges from as few as 16 pairs (e.g., in ''
P. clavigera'')
to as many as 25 pairs (in ''
P. moseleyi'') and varies within species when the number is greater than 18 pairs.
Velvet worms in this genus feature a last pair of legs (the genital pair) that is rudimentary or reduced in size, mainly in males.
This genus exhibits
matrotrophic viviparity
Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...
, that is, mothers in this genus retain eggs in their uteri and supply nourishment to their embryos, but without any placenta.
Species
The genus ''Peripatopsis'' consists of the following species:
* ''
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
''Peripatopsis hamerae'' is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is a clade in the '' P. moseleyi'' species complex. The original description of this species is based on one specimen of each sex, each measuring 22 ...
''
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
''Peripatopsis mira'' is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is a clade in the '' P. clavigera'' species complex. This species has 17 pairs of legs, varies from slate black to charcoal, and is found on the south-f ...
''
Barnes et al., 2020
* ''
Peripatopsis moseleyi''
(Wood-Mason, 1879)
* ''
Peripatopsis overbergiensis''
McDonald et al., 2012 — Overberg velvet worm
* ''
Peripatopsis purpureus
''Peripatopsis purpureus'' is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is a clade in the '' P. balfouri'' species complex. Males of this species have 17 clawed legs with the last pair highly reduced, whereas females h ...
''
Daniels et al., 2013
* ''
Peripatopsis sedgwicki''
Purcell, 1899 — Tsitsikamma velvet worm
* ''
Peripatopsis storchi''
Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013
* ''
Peripatopsis tulbaghensis
''Peripatopsis tulbaghensis'' is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is dark brown with 17 pairs of legs and ranges from 8 mm to 32 mm in length. Also known as the Tulbagh velvet worm, this species is found in Gro ...
''
Barnes et al., 2020
References
Endemic fauna of South Africa
Onychophorans of temperate Africa
Onychophoran genera
Taxa named by R. I. Pocock
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Onychophora-stub