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| Colour variation in the life of Oroperipatus tiputini sp. nov. A. Adult male paratype; B. Adult male paratype; C. Adult female holotype (ZSFQ-i8248) and youngling paratype a few days after being born. Montalvo-Salazar, Bejarano, Valarezo & Cisneros-Heredia, 2024 All photographs were taken at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. Photographs by Pedro Peñaherrera R. (A, C) and Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia (B). |
Abstract
The diversity of Neotropical velvet worms (Onychophora, Neopatida) is significantly underestimated, particularly within the Andean clade represented by the genus Oroperipatus, the last species of which was described more than 70 years ago. Here, we describe a new species of Oroperipatus from the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador, bringing the total number of described species on mainland Ecuador to seven and in western Amazonia to three. The new species, Oroperipatus tiputini sp. nov., can be distinguished from its congenerics by the following combination of characters: two variations of primary papillae alternated between dorsal plicae; four scale ranks in the apical piece of primary papillae; reduced fifth spinous pad of legs IV and V; four supraocular papillae; occasionally reduced anterior papilla; males with two crural tubercles per leg in the first pregenital pair and a single crural tubercle per leg in the next pair; and some accessory papillae with one lateral rudimentary apical piece. We also discuss novel morphological similarities and differences with other Neopatida genera, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Key Words: Andean peripatids, Ecuador, Neopatida, new species, taxonomy, Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Yasuni
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| Colour variation in the life of Oroperipatus tiputini sp. nov. A. Adult male paratype, ZSFQ-i8270; B. Adult male paratype, ZSFQ-i5151; C. Adult female holotype (ZSFQ-i8248) and youngling paratype (ZSFQ-17794) a few days after being born. All photographs were taken at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. Photographs by Pedro Peñaherrera R. (A, C) and Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia (B). |
Oroperipatus tiputini sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Oroperipatus tiputini sp. nov. differs from all other congeneric species by having two size variations of primary papillae alternated between dorsal plicae (Figs 3A, 4C), apical piece of primary papillae with four scale ranks (Fig. 4B), reduced fifth spinous pad of legs IV and V (Fig. 3B), four foot papillae, four supraocular papillae, and occasionally the anterior papilla reduced (Fig. 1); some accessory papillae with one lateral rudimentary apical piece (Fig. 4C); males with two crural tubercles per leg in first pregenital pair and a single crural tubercle per leg in the next pair (Fig. 3C).
Etymology: The specific epithet is used as a name in apposition in reference to the type locality of the new species, Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS). We present this new species in recognition of the hard work done to protect Amazonian biodiversity by TBS’s management, research, and field team at one of the most important research stations in western Amazonia (Bass et al. 2010).
Jorge L. Montalvo-Salazar, M. Lorena Bejarano, Alfredo Valarezo, Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia. 2024. A New Species of Velvet Worm of the Genus Oroperipatus (Onychophora, Peripatidae) from western Amazonia. Zoosystematics and Evolution. 100(3): 779-789. DOI: 10.3897/zse.100.117952
