''Peripatus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 ...

s 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. The name "peripatus" (unitalicised and uncapitalised) is also used to refer to the Onychophora as a whole, although this group comprises many other genera besides ''Peripatus''. The genus ''Peripatus'' is found in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

Species

The genus contains the following species: * '' Peripatus basilensis'' Brues, 1935 –

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

* '' Peripatus bouvieri'' Fuhrmann, 1913 –

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

* '' Peripatus brolemanni'' Bouvier, 1899 –

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

* '' Peripatus danicus'' Bouvier, 1900 –

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...

* '' Peripatus darlingtoni'' Brues, 1935 – Haiti * '' Peripatus dominicae'' Pollard, 1894 –

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographical ...

* '' Peripatus evelinae'' (Marcus, 1937) –

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

* '' Peripatus haitiensis'' Brues, 1913 – Haiti * '' Peripatus heloisae'' Carvalho, 1941 – Brazil * '' Peripatus juanensis'' Bouvier, 1900 –

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

* '' Peripatus juliformis'' Guilding, 1826 – Saint Vincent Island * '' Peripatus lachauxensis'' Brues, 1935 – Haiti * '' Peripatus manni'' Brues, 1913 – Haiti * '' Peripatus ruber'' Fuhrmann, 1913 –

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

* '' Peripatus sedgwicki'' Bouvier, 1899 – Venezuela * '' Peripatus swainsonae'' Cockerell, 1893 –

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

''Peripatus antiguensis'' Bouvier, 1899 and ''Peripatus bavaysi'' Bouvier, 1899 are considered ''

nomina dubia In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

'' by Oliveira et al. 2012.

Former species

* ''

Mongeperipatus solorzanoi ''Mongeperipatus solorzanoi'', or Solórzano's velvet worm, is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage ...

'' Morera-Brenes & Monge-Nájera, 2010, Solórzano's velvet worm – Costa Rica

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2418292 Onychophorans of tropical America Onychophoran genera