''Mesoperipatus'' is a monospecific genus of
velvet worm in the
Peripatidae
Peripatidae is a family of velvet worms. The oldest putative representatives of the family herald from Burmese amber dated to the mid-Cretaceous, around 100 Ma, with representatives from Dominican and Baltic amber attesting to a broader distribu ...
family, containing a single species ''Mesoperipatus tholloni''. It is found in
Gabon,
making it the only known species of velvet worm in the tropics of Africa, and the only known species of peripatid velvet worm in Africa. Females of this species have 24 to 27 pairs of legs; males have 23 or 24.
Conservation
In terms of conservation status, this species is listed as Data Deficient on the
IUCN Red List.
References
Fauna of Gabon
IUCN-assessed onychophorans
Monotypic protostome genera
Onychophoran genera
Onychophorans of tropical Africa
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Onychophora-stub