''Epiperipatus brasiliensis'' is a species of

velvet worm 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 Peripatidae

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

. Males of this species have 29 pairs of legs; females have 31 or 33. This species ranges from 37 mm to 80 mm in length. The type locality is in Pará, Brazil. '' Epiperipatus vagans'' from

Barro Colorado Island Barro Colorado Island is located in the man-made Gatun Lake in the middle of the Panama Canal. The island was formed when the waters of the Chagres River were dammed to form the lake in 1913. When the waters rose, they covered a significant par ...

(Panama) was originally described as subspecies of ''Epiperipatus brasiliensis'', but is now treated as a full species.

References

Onychophorans of tropical America Onychophoran species Invertebrates of Brazil Animals described in 1899 Taxa named by Eugène Louis Bouvier {{Onychophora-stub