''Planipapillus'' is a genus of

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 family

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 ...

, whose species are found in eastern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and southeastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. They are unique in that the males of this genus bear patches of reduced papillae on the head, posterior to the eyes; the generic name refers to this fact, and likewise they have been vernacularly referred to as lawn-headed onychophorans. All species in this genus are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...

and have 15 pairs of oncopods (legs).

Species

The genus was erected in 1996 by

Amanda Reid Amanda Reid (born 12 November 1996) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer and cyclist. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, she won a silver medal in the Women's 500 m Tim ...

to accommodate four contemporarily described species, of which ''P. taylori'' was designated the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

. In the year 2000 Reid described and assigned a further eight species to ''Planipapillus'', producing the count of 12 species recognised today. These species are listed below: * '' Planipapillus annae'' Reid, 2000 * '' Planipapillus berti'' Reid, 2000 * '' Planipapillus biacinaces'' Reid, 1996 * '' Planipapillus biacinoides'' Reid, 2000 * '' Planipapillus bulgensis'' Reid, 1996 * '' Planipapillus cyclus'' Reid, 2000 * '' Planipapillus gracilis'' Reid, 2000 * '' Planipapillus impacris'' Reid, 2000 * '' Planipapillus mundus'' Reid, 1996 * '' Planipapillus taylori'' Reid, 1996 * '' Planipapillus tectus'' Reid, 2000 * '' Planipapillus vittatus'' Reid, 2000

References

Onychophorans of Australasia Onychophoran genera Taxa named by Amanda Reid (malacologist) {{Onychophora-stub