Peripatus juliformis

Peripatus juliformis
Original illustration from Guilding, L. (1826) Mollusca Caribbaeana. Zoological Journal 2: plate XIV.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Onychophora
Class:	Udeonychophora
Order:	Euonychophora
Family:	Peripatidae
Genus:	Peripatus
Species:	P. juliformis
Binomial name
Peripatus juliformis Guilding, 1826

Peripatus juliformis is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family.^[1] Females of this species have 33 or 34 pairs of legs; males have 29 or 30.^[2] The type locality is on Saint Vincent Island.

This species became the first velvet worm known to science when Guilding described it in 1826. He thought it was an unusual type of slug, and included it along with his Caribbean mollusks.^[3] He named this genus Peripatus (1826). He included an excellent watercolor painting of the specimen, and a mention of the defensive mechanism of sticky liquid squirts. A translation into English from Guilding's description, originally written in Latin, shows how he first classified the specimen in the Class Moluska, and how astonished he was for discovering a new species.^[4] The specific epithet juliformis is a Latinisation of juliform, a botanial term meaning catkin-like.

References[]

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