Ooperipatellus nanus

Ooperipatellus nanus is a species of velvet worm in the family Peripatopsidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the South Island.

Ooperipatellus nanus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Onychophora
Family: Peripatopsidae
Genus: Ooperipatellus
Species:
O. nanus
Binomial name
Ooperipatellus nanus
Ruhberg, 1985[1]

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Hilke Ruhberg in 1985.[2]

Description

Ooperipatellus nanus is a small species of velvet worm that grows to a length of approximately 10 mm.[3] This species is tan or brown in color on its back but yellow on its underside.[4] It is oviparous and has 13 pairs of legs,[5] which is the minimum number found in the phylum Onychophora.[3][6]

Distribution

Ooperipatellus nanus has only been found in Southland, in the Takitimu Mountains.[2]

Life cycle

This species produce young by laying eggs from which the young subsequently hatch.[3]

Host species

Ooperipatellus nanus are found mainly in rotting beech logs.[4]

Conservation status

This species has been classified as having the "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" conservation status under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[7]

References
  1. Oliveira, I.; Hering, L. & Mayer, G. "Updated Onychophora checklist". Onychophora Website. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. Harris, A. C (1991). "A large aggregation of Peripatoides novaezealandiae (Hutton, 1876) (Onycophora: Peripatopsidae)". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 21 (4): 405–406. doi:10.1080/03036758.1991.10420836.
  3. Allwood, Julia; Gleeson, Dianne; Mayer, Georg; Daniels, Savel; Beggs, Jacqueline R.; Buckley, Thomas R. (April 2010). "Support for vicariant origins of the New Zealand Onychophora". Journal of Biogeography. 37 (4): 669–681. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02233.x. S2CID 55395265.
  4. "Peripatus (Onchyphora)". Manaaki Whenua. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  5. Tait, N.N.; Briscoe, D.A. (1995-05-01). "Genetic differentiation within New Zealand Onychophora and their relationships to the Australian fauna". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 114 (1): 103–113. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00115.x. ISSN 0024-4082.
  6. Yang, Jie; Ortega-Hernández, Javier; Gerber, Sylvain; Butterfield, Nicholas J.; Hou, Jin-bo; Lan, Tian; Zhang, Xi-guang (2015-07-14). "A superarmored lobopodian from the Cambrian of China and early disparity in the evolution of Onychophora". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (28): 8678–8683. doi:10.1073/pnas.1505596112. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 4507230. PMID 26124122 – via ResearchGate.
  7. Trewick, Steve; Hitchmough, Rod; Rolfe, Jeremy; Stringer, Ian (2018). Conservation status of New Zealand Onychophora ('peripatus' or velvet worm), 2018 (PDF). pp. 1–3. ISBN 9781988514703. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
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