#peripatopsidae

A blind velvet worm (Leucopatus anophthalmus) in Elephant Pass, Tasmania

Blind velvet worm, Leucopatus anophthalmus, Peripatopsidae

Found in Tasmania and considered endangered. As the name implies, they have no eyes.

Peripatoides novazealandiae, family Peripatopsidae, New Zealand

photo by Frupus (Flickr) & Rod Morris; video by Dan On Earth

Indigo Velvet Worm (Peripatoides indigo), family Peripatopsidae, New Zealand

photographs by Rod Morris

Peripatoides waikaia, family Peripatopsidae, New Zealand

photographs by Rod Morris

Peripatoides aurorbis, family Peripatopsidae, New Zealand

summer's meant more bugs in the open air but i'll always say hi to the worms in the logs

Look at those peets, Lookit them.

As it happens, less than an hour before I took these photos, somebody at the Bioblitz asked me where they could find Velvet Worms, and I had to tell 'somewhere less dry than Julimar', which I felt was good advice - even with the rain that weekend, nearly every inch of ground was bare gravel, with the exception of the small piles of bark litter around the bases of the Wandoo eucalypts. Hardly good habitat for a Phylum that can dry out easily.

And then @purrdence was poking around one of those bark piles and found this.

Occiperipatoides gilesii also comes in blue-black, is found on the Swan Coastal Plain and adjacent areas on the Darling Escarpment, and is one of four species of velvet worm found in this corner of the country. Three of those used be considered one species -  Occiperipatoides occidentalis - but are now considered their own genus, Kumbadjena. Kumbadjena is derived from Noongar (or Nyungar) words referring to the southwest region of Western Australia where these are found. Occiperipatoides means 'Western-Peripatus-like'. Peripatus itself is the quitessential velvet worm, and means 'walking about'. Which they do. On adorable peets.

Like other Velvet Worms, Occiperipatoides is a predator, hunting down other invertebrates with its sensory tentacles, and immobilising them with glue sprayed from nozzles in their face. The glue glands are large, running half the length of the body, but it can still take several weeks to refill them. The prey is then devoured with curved jaws deep in oral cavity. Some velvet worm species are social, and hunt as a pack, with dominant females getting to feed first.

Reproductive anatomy and behaviour is complex. Some have bladed structures - on the face, again - that they appear to use to place sperm packets in the female's genital slit she she holds him in place, and others deposit semen on her skin. Immune cells in her blood then gather underneath the sperm packet, and dissolve the skin and spermatophore integument between them and the sperm cells, whereupon the sperm swims into her body and starts looking for the eggs. Some velvet worms give birth to live young (a few even have a placenta!), and some are known to stand gaurd over their offspring.

Predators of velvet worms include other invertebrate predators, birds, and Hemprich's coral snake Micrurus hemprichii of South America, which apparently has velvet worms as a major part of its diet.

Being soft-bodied, velvet worms rarely fossilised well, but it seems they are descendents of the marine Lobopods, such as Aysheaia and the famous Hallucigenia of the Cambrian-age Burgess Shale. It's unclear when they moved onto the land, but it was most likely during the Ordovician or Silurian.

Helllo friends! A anon requested a Velvet worm care sheet, and I have researched! SO NOW IT’S TIME.

(source)

First off, what are velvet worms? They are from the order Euonychophora with two family groups. Peripatidae, which live in tropical regions around and above the equator, and Peripatopsidae live south of the Equator. Their true eyes are little teeny dots, and they rely on those front legs to touch things so they can get around and find prey! The ‘velvet’ appearance is a special water proof skin! They are one of the few invertebrates that give birth to live young, and can live around 5 to 7 years if cared for right. Some species, like Euperipatoides, live in a societal structure like a wolf pack, where close family hunt and live together. There can be as much as 15 individuals in a ‘pack’ They are a very old species, and have been around for 500 million years!!!

Velvet worms are adorable, but they are also quite vicious hunters! At night, they emerge and feel around for prey, which are other insects and invertebrates. Once they find suitable prey, they spray them with a sticky glue that prevents the prey from escaping. Once subdued, the velvet worm makes a small slice somewhere on the prey, and pump them full of digestive venom and then slurp up the liquefied insides. NO WORRIES, they can’t hurt humans. They don’t like to waste precious calories and energy going after something that isn’t prey. 

Now then! What do they need for proper care? 

Humidity and Heat

Velvet worms prefer cooler temperatures around the 60-75°F / 15-23 °C. A basement would be an example of a perfect place to keep these guys.  Some owners even keep them in a fridge! They need an extremely high humidity, because unlike other invertebrates, they cannot close their breathing holes, so they dry out super fast. I would say at LEAST 80% humidity at all times. DO NOT USE TAP WATER. Most people use pure rainwater to mist the tank, you could also use river water or spring water. Be careful about spring water, because some of it is just bottled tap water. These are a sensitive species and can die if exposed to chemicals and heavy metals.

Substrate

Velvet worms enjoy mosses, because they retain moisture. So some cocoa fiber/dirt mix with some sphagnum moss covering the dirt should do the trick. They hide during the day, so provide them hiding places, like a little cave or a hollow log to hide in. They may even make their own hiding place in the dirt. The more damp and dark hiding places, the better. The substrate should be moist, but it doesn’t need to be sopping wet. Even though Velvet worms are waterproof, they don’t enjoy sitting around in standing water.

Activity

Velvet worms are nocturnal, so don’t expect to see them out during the day time. They can be seen at night, looking for food. I recommend a red light-bulb so you can watch them without bothering them too much. They mostly just chug along and are an easy going species. They can be handled, but make sure you wash your hands and remove any trace of lotions or toxins. They don’t bite people and think of us as really, really weird branches, so there is nothing to fear from them. For the most part, it’s best to let them be unless you are feeding them or checking up on them. Too much stress is never good for any animal, and constantly disturbing their rest during the day could lead to illness and death. Put your tank in a dark and less trafficked part of your house so they can rest well.

Food

Velvet worms are incredible voracious predators! They will eat just about any kind of invertebrate, so it doesn’t matter too much what you give them. Just make sure they are small enough that the velvet worm doesn’t get injured trying to subdue their prey. Crickets and grubs/worms are an excellent choice, but they will also dine on roaches and locusts. Velvet worms are careful about going after prey, because it takes a lot of energy and calories to produce the glue they use for hunting. To help them out, you could probably gut load your prey items before offering them to your worm. Most invertebrate prey items have less nutritional value compared to wild prey, so gut loading will help them out and give them a little extra nutrients.

So that’s what I have found out about caring for Velvet worms! Remember, there are several different species of velvet worm, so feel free to check them all out! Some come in rather beautiful colors and can be a really cool pet to care for. For example, look how stoked Coyote Peterson was when his camera crew found a red velvet worm. These animals deserve to be admired for their otherworldly beauty and  uniqueness. 

A Southern velvet worm (Peripatopsidae sp.) in Calliope, QLD, Australia