Peripatus juliformis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family.[1] The number of legs in this species ranges from 29 pairs to 34 pairs.[2] Specimens are a very dark brown, almost black, with a paler ventral surface.[2] Females range from 36 mm to 75 mm in length, whereas males range from 14 mm to 16 mm.[3] The type locality is on Saint Vincent Island.
| Peripatus juliformis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Original illustration from Guilding, L. (1826) Mollusca Caribbaeana. Zoological Journal 2: plate XIV. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Onychophora |
| Family: | Peripatidae |
| Genus: | Peripatus |
| Species: | P. juliformis
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| Binomial name | |
| Peripatus juliformis Guilding, 1826
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This species became the first velvet worm known to science when Guilding described it in 1826. He thought it was an unusual type of slug, and included it along with his Caribbean mollusks.[4] He named this genus Peripatus (1826). He included an excellent watercolor painting of the specimen, and a mention of the defensive mechanism of sticky liquid squirts. A translation into English from Guilding's description, originally written in Latin, shows how he first classified the specimen in the Class Moluska, and how astonished he was for discovering a new species.[5]
References edit
- ^ Oliveira, I.; Hering, L. & Mayer, G. "Updated Onychophora checklist". Onychophora Website. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ a b Read, V. M. St. J. (July 1988). "The Onychophora of Trinidad, Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 93 (3): 225–57. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1988.tb01362.x.
- ^ Monge-Nájera, Julián (1994). "Reproductive trends, habitat type and body characteristcs in velvet worms (Onychophora)". Revista de Biología Tropical: 611–622. ISSN 2215-2075.
- ^ Guilding, L. (1826). "Mollusca Caribbeana -- An Account of a New Genus of Mollusca". Zoological Journal. 2: 443–444 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- ^ Monge, J. (2019). " I, astonished, discovered by chance the only specimen”: the first velvet worm (Onychophora). Blog RBT. Retrieved from: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/39056/39793
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