BUG ME

Velvet worms

BY MELODY THOMAS

Name: Velvet worms, or peripatus Māori name: Ngaokeoke, from ngaoki, which means to crawl Scientific name: Phylum: Onychopra, Genus: Peripatus Status: Insufficient information Description: Peripatus are stumpy-legged, velvety invertebrates that look like caterpillars but aren’t (nor are they worms or insects, but their own in-between thing – more on this below). They range from 2 to 15 cm in length and can have 13 to 16 pairs of legs. At least nine species in Aotearoa have been described, but it’s believed there are 20 to 30 more waiting to be described, partly because different species can look very similar, and members of the same species can look very different to each other. Still, if you’ve always wanted to name a species, peripatus are among your best bets! Habitat: It’s thought the ancestor of peripatus came to New Zealand with the land that broke away from eastern Australia 85 million years ago. These days, ngaokeoke are found in most forested parts of Aotearoa, on the North Island, South Island and Rakiura/Stewart Island, and many offshore islands. They can also be found in scrub, gardens, and the occasional pasture or park. Look/listen: Look for them in and beneath logs and leaf litter in damp forest environments, where they hang out during the day, seeking cool shade so their permanently open pores don’t lead them to dry out. If you see one out at night it’s probably hunting: keep your eye on it, and you might see it shoot a jet of sticky fluid to catch its prey, then dissolve the poor creature’s insides with its saliva before sucking out the partially digested juice that remains.

Tell me a story: Peripatus was historically referred to as a ‘‘missing link” species, due to their similarity to both worms and insects, and as ‘‘living fossils”, because they’ve changed so little in the last 500 million years. Female ngaokeoke also have two uteri and can carry embryos at different stages of development at the same time, resulting in two sets of different-age offspring!

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