''Opisthopatus amatolensis'' 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

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 ...

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 ...

. This species has 16 pairs of legs. The type locality is in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The validity of this species is uncertain: Although some authorities deem ''O. amatolensis'' to be invalid even as a subspecies of '' O. cinctipes'', a similar species also found in South Africa, other authorities recognize ''O. amatolensis'' as a separate species, citing the significant distance (161 km) between the type localities of these two species.

References

Endemic fauna of South Africa Onychophorans of temperate Africa Onychophoran species Animals described in 1947 {{Onychophora-stub