''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 countri ...

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 Matrotrophy is a form of maternal care during organism development, associated with live birth (viviparity), in which the embryo of an animal or flowering plant is supplied with additional nutrition from the mother (e.g. through a placenta). This ...

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 ''Peripatopsis balfouri'' is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 18 pairs of clawed legs (with the last pair more reduced in the male than in the female). Also known as the blue velvet worm, this species ranges ...

'' (Sedgwick, 1885) * '' Peripatopsis birgeri'' Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013 * '' Peripatopsis bolandi'' Daniels et al., 2013 * ''

Peripatopsis capensis ''Peripatopsis capensis'' is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 18 pairs of legs: 17 pregenital leg pairs with claws plus one strongly reduced last pair without claws or spinous pads. Females of this species ...

'' (Grube, 1866) * '' Peripatopsis cederbergiensis'' Daniels et al., 2013 * ''

Peripatopsis clavigera ''Peripatopsis clavigera'', the Knysna velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 16 pairs of legs and ranges from 4 mm to 17 mm in length. ''Peripatopsis clavigera'' is found in subtropical or tropica ...

'' Purcell, 1899 — Knysna velvet worm * '' Peripatopsis edenensis'' Barnes et al., 2020 * '' Peripatopsis ferox'' Barnes et al., 2020 * '' Peripatopsis hamerae'' Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013 * '' Peripatopsis intermedia'' Hutchinson, 1928 * '' Peripatopsis janni'' Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013 * '' Peripatopsis lawrencei'' McDonald et al., 2012 * ''

Peripatopsis leonina ''Peripatopsis leonina'', the Lion's Hill velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatopsidae family. This species has 20 to 24 pairs of legs, usually 21 or 22 leg pairs, with the last pair of legs reduced. Females of this species rang ...

'' Purcell, 1899 — Lion's Hill velvet worm * '' Peripatopsis mellaria'' Barnes et al., 2020 * '' Peripatopsis mira'' Barnes et al., 2020 * '' Peripatopsis moseleyi'' (Wood-Mason, 1879) * '' Peripatopsis overbergiensis'' McDonald et al., 2012 — Overberg velvet worm * '' Peripatopsis purpureus'' Daniels et al., 2013 * '' Peripatopsis sedgwicki'' Purcell, 1899 — Tsitsikamma velvet worm * '' Peripatopsis storchi'' Ruhberg & Daniels, 2013 * '' Peripatopsis tulbaghensis'' 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