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melvynyeo — Velvet Worm

Published: 2013-07-08 11:20:10 +0000 UTC; Views: 7704; Favourites: 372; Downloads: 96
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Description Finally, i found my first Velvet worm! Been wanting to shoot these for the longest time. So happy that Singapore also have these though they are extremely hard to find Taken in Singapore forest at night.

Check out this video [link]

Quote from [link]
The velvet worms (Onychophora — literally "claw bearers", also known as Protracheata) are a minor ecdysozoan phylum with ~180 species. These obscurely segmented organisms have tiny eyes, antennae, multiple pairs of legs and slime glands. They have variously been compared to worms with legs, caterpillars and slugs. Most common in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, they prey on smaller animals such as insects, which they catch by squirting an adhesive mucus. In modern zoology, they are particularly renowned for their curious mating behaviour and for bearing live young.

The two extant families of velvet worms are Peripatidae and Peripatopsidae. They show a peculiar distribution, with the peripatids being predominantly equatorial and tropical, while the peripatopsids are all found in what used to be Gondwana.

Formerly considered part of Tracheata, velvet worms are now considered close relatives of the Arthropoda and Tardigrada, with which they form the taxon Panarthropoda. This makes them of palaeontological interest, as they can help to reconstruct the ancestral arthropod.

Velvet worms are segmented creatures with a flattened cylindrical body cross-section and rows of unstructured body appendages known as lobopods (informally: stub feet). The animals grow to between 0.5 and 20 cm (.25 to 8 in), with the average being about 5 cm (2 in), and have between 13 and 43 pairs of legs. Their skin consists of numerous, fine transverse rings and is often inconspicuously coloured orange, red or brown, but sometimes also bright green, blue, gold or white, and occasionally patterned with other colours.

Segmenting—outwardly inconspicuous and identifiable only in the regular spacing of the pairs of legs—is visible in the regular arrangement of skin pores, excretion organs and concentrations of nerve cells. The individual body sections are largely unspecialised; even the head develops only a little differently from the abdominal segments. Segmentation is apparently specified by the same gene as in other groups of animals and is activated in each case, during embryonic development, at the rear border of each segment and in the growth zone of the stub feet.
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Comments: 71

art-is-my-bream [2013-08-19 20:52:08 +0000 UTC]

Hey your good with bugs what's he >art-is-my-bream.deviantart.com…

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Fizap [2013-08-05 02:44:55 +0000 UTC]

certainly my favorite invertebrate, but so hard to find!  i don't know if it's been said before, but national geographic better be using these!

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WonderDookie [2013-08-03 16:38:39 +0000 UTC]

Great picture! That's a really interesting colored velvet worm too.


These are some of my favorite little critters!

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buhobotija [2013-07-18 21:06:53 +0000 UTC]

nice photo.

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art-is-my-bream [2013-07-15 14:19:28 +0000 UTC]

Awwwww look at its little feet!

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melvynyeo In reply to art-is-my-bream [2013-07-17 08:51:07 +0000 UTC]

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Ginga1399 [2013-07-13 20:12:51 +0000 UTC]

Wtf ?! Whats that?
Great Shot!!!

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melvynyeo In reply to Ginga1399 [2013-07-15 08:45:20 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!!

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teetotally [2013-07-10 09:38:06 +0000 UTC]

WHAT THE...?!?!?
never seen a creature like this, thanks for sharing this great capture.

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melvynyeo In reply to teetotally [2013-07-15 08:45:23 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!!

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slave2F8 [2013-07-09 08:11:02 +0000 UTC]

Whoa, fascinating! It almost looks like the tip of a starfish haha. Kind of a cute little guy. Great shot!

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melvynyeo In reply to slave2F8 [2013-07-09 12:03:31 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Head-ZonkStudios [2013-07-09 02:00:48 +0000 UTC]

This has to be the single most bizarre invertebrate that I've ever seen.

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melvynyeo In reply to Head-ZonkStudios [2013-07-09 12:03:51 +0000 UTC]

Yes! Seeing them in the wild is amazing

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Slipping-Star [2013-07-09 00:57:12 +0000 UTC]

I want one. ;_; So cute.

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melvynyeo In reply to Slipping-Star [2013-07-09 12:03:59 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Ladies62 [2013-07-09 00:43:19 +0000 UTC]

How did I live so long without knowing about these? Thankyou for your patience and talent. Wonderful shot!

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melvynyeo In reply to Ladies62 [2013-07-09 12:04:03 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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chocoloverforlife [2013-07-09 00:24:42 +0000 UTC]

i will name him squishy, and he will be my squishy :3

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melvynyeo In reply to chocoloverforlife [2013-07-09 12:04:11 +0000 UTC]

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Lily-Ash [2013-07-08 23:11:01 +0000 UTC]

THat's both creepy and cute.

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melvynyeo In reply to Lily-Ash [2013-07-09 12:04:14 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Smexybluemelon [2013-07-08 21:10:18 +0000 UTC]

I never knew a worm could be cute <3 great picture

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melvynyeo In reply to Smexybluemelon [2013-07-09 12:04:16 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Demonlemon [2013-07-08 20:15:36 +0000 UTC]

Adorable <3

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melvynyeo In reply to Demonlemon [2013-07-09 12:04:20 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Annaliese-Shelly [2013-07-08 18:54:29 +0000 UTC]

That is....words fail me. A really good picture.

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melvynyeo In reply to Annaliese-Shelly [2013-07-09 12:04:22 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Lady-on-the-Moon [2013-07-08 18:39:18 +0000 UTC]

Almost unchanged from it's ancestor, that was supposedly the first arthropod to ever walk on land. Very good shot though!

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melvynyeo In reply to Lady-on-the-Moon [2013-07-09 12:04:26 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Doki-i [2013-07-08 18:03:31 +0000 UTC]

awww it's so cute ;w;

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melvynyeo In reply to Doki-i [2013-07-09 12:04:28 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Rosella-of-Daventry [2013-07-08 18:01:58 +0000 UTC]

OH MY GOSH, IT LOOKS SO FLUFFY AND CUTE.

I never thought I could see a velvet worm from this kind of perspective and closeness. I'm super-impressed by this shot.

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melvynyeo In reply to Rosella-of-Daventry [2013-07-09 12:04:35 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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CarrieMilinazzo [2013-07-08 17:56:54 +0000 UTC]

I can only imagine how long it must have taken to get this shot! Great job!

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melvynyeo In reply to CarrieMilinazzo [2013-07-09 12:04:37 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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frostywolf37 [2013-07-08 17:55:48 +0000 UTC]

Another amazing find.

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melvynyeo In reply to frostywolf37 [2013-07-09 12:04:39 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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frostywolf37 In reply to melvynyeo [2013-07-09 18:56:09 +0000 UTC]

Welcome!

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The-Spoonrider [2013-07-08 17:37:52 +0000 UTC]

Wow, this is incredible. Good job sir.

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melvynyeo In reply to The-Spoonrider [2013-07-09 12:04:41 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Copanel-CP [2013-07-08 17:33:22 +0000 UTC]

Cute little creature!I have seen a similar creature in David Attenborough's documentary about invertebrates on Animal Planet maybe in 2009/2010.But I like this creature.

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melvynyeo In reply to Copanel-CP [2013-07-09 12:04:47 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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raido-ehwaz [2013-07-08 17:04:11 +0000 UTC]

beautiful shot! i really like the detail on the cuticle...

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melvynyeo In reply to raido-ehwaz [2013-07-09 12:04:51 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Enairee [2013-07-08 17:04:10 +0000 UTC]

I have a vast need to pet it. If I lived in an area with lots of poisonous creatures, I would not be here. xD

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melvynyeo In reply to Enairee [2013-07-09 12:04:56 +0000 UTC]

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LittleDaughter [2013-07-08 17:01:09 +0000 UTC]

That is just...just so...so...weird o.o Awesome pic!

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melvynyeo In reply to LittleDaughter [2013-07-09 12:04:58 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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LittleDaughter In reply to melvynyeo [2013-07-09 14:32:31 +0000 UTC]

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