Tasmanipatus
| Tasmanipatus | |
|---|---|
| Tasmanipatus barretti | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Onychophora |
| Family: | Peripatopsidae |
| Genus: | Ruhberg, Mesibov, Briscoe & Tait, 1991 |
| Species: | T. barretti
|
| Binomial name | |
| Tasmanipatus barretti Ruhberg, Mesibov, Briscoe & Tait, 1991
| |
| Map of Tasmania with the distribution Tasmanipatus in pink | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Tasmanipatus barretti, the giant velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family.[1] It is the sole species in the genus Tasmanipatus[2][3] and is ovoviviparous.[4]
Discovery and naming
Tasmanipatus barretti was described by Ruhberg et al. in 1991.[5][6] The generic name "Tasmanipatus" refers to the species' distribution in Tasmania, Australia. The specific name "barretti" refers to Australian naturalist Charles Leslie Barrett, who was sent a specimen from St Marys. Barrett is thought to have published the first record of the species, though he did not recognize it as a new species.[6] The animal's common name refers to its size, being fairly large when compared to other Peripatopsids. However, much larger velvet worms exist in the family Peripatidae (see Mongeperipatus solorzanoi).
Description
Tasmanipatus has a mauve colored back with a slightly darker dorsomedial furrow running along its midline. The animal has a pair of antennae, two ocelli, a pair of Slime papillae, and 15 pairs of legs called lobopods. Adults are typically 35-40 millimeters long but can extend to 75 millimeters while walking.[6]
Classification
Tasmanipatus is an onychophoran from the family Peripatopsidae.[7][8] It falls within a large Australasian clade, being closely related to southern genera like Diemenipatus, Peripatoides, and Ooperipatellus. Below is a genus-level phylogeny of Peripatopsid velvet worms.[8] As it doesn't include every genus of peripatopsid, it eventually needs updating.[7]
| Peripatopsidae |
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Distribution and habitat
The species lives in Tasmania.[3][6]
References
- ^ Oliveira, I. S.; Hering, L. & Mayer, G. "Updated Onychophora checklist". Onychophora Website. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ Oliveira, Ivo de Sena; Ruhberg, Hilke; Rowell, David M.; Mayer, Georg (2018-08-16). "Revision of Tasmanian viviparous velvet worms (Onychophora : Peripatopsidae) with descriptions of two new species". Invertebrate Systematics. 32 (4): 909–932. doi:10.1071/IS17096. ISSN 1447-2600. S2CID 91253450.
- ^ a b "giant velvet worm (Genus Tasmanipatus)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ Baker, Caitlin M; Buckman-Young, Rebecca S; Costa, Cristiano S; Giribet, Gonzalo (2021-12-09). Xia, Xuhua (ed.). "Phylogenomic Analysis of Velvet Worms (Onychophora) Uncovers an Evolutionary Radiation in the Neotropics". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 38 (12): 5391–5404. doi:10.1093/molbev/msab251. ISSN 1537-1719. PMC 8662635. PMID 34427671.
- ^ "Species Tasmanipatus barretti Ruhberg, Mesibov, Briscoe & Tait, 1991". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Government. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ a b c d Ruhberg, H.; Mesibov, R.; Briscoe, D. A.; Tait, N. N. (1991). "Tasmanipatus barretti gen. nov., sp. nov. and Tasmanipatus anophthalmus sp. no.: two new and unusual onychophorans (Onychophora: Peripatopsidae) from northeastern Tasmania". Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 125: 7–10. doi:10.26749/rstpp.125.7.
- ^ a b Oliveira, Ivo de Sena (2023-11-16). "An updated world checklist of velvet worms (Onychophora) with notes on nomenclature and status of names". ZooKeys (1184): 133–260. Bibcode:2023ZooK.1184..133O. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1184.107286. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 10680090. PMID 38023768.
- ^ a b Giribet, Gonzalo; Buckman-Young, Rebecca S.; Costa, Cristiano Sampaio; Baker, Caitlin M.; Benavides, Ligia R.; Branstetter, Michael G.; Daniels, Savel R.; Pinto-da-Rocha, Ricardo (2018). "The 'Peripatos' in Eurogondwana? – Lack of evidence that south-east Asian onychophorans walked through Europe". Invertebrate Systematics. 32 (4): 840–863. doi:10.1071/IS18007.