Peripatus

Peripatus

Taxobox | name = "Peripatus"


image_width = 280px
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Onychophora
familia = Peripatidae
genus = "Peripatus"
genus_authority = Guilding, 1826

"Peripatus" is a genus of Onychophora (Velvet worms). It is said to be a living fossil because it has been unchanged for approximately 570 million years. "Peripatus" are native to scattered places around the world including New Zealand, Costa Rica [ [http://www.ots.ac.cr/tropiweb/attachments/onicof/onynew99/onyhabit.htm Onychophora Online: velvet worms, peripatus, living fossils, by Julian Monge Najera ] ] and other countries, but not in Europe or Antarctica. "Peripatus" is a nocturnal carnivore. It feeds by trapping its prey (mostly small insects) in a white, sticky fluid it ejects from two antennae near its head. The fluid hardens on contact with the air and then the prey becomes immoblized. "Peripatus" then chews a hole in its prey's exoskeleton with its mandibles (which move independently of each other), injects digestive enzymes in, and begins sucking out its prey's pre-digested innards.

The White cave velvet worm, "Peripatopsis alba", is a rare cave dwelling variety.

References

ee also

*Velvet worm


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  • Peripatus — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda ? Peripatus Peripatus Clasificación científica …   Wikipedia Español

  • peripatus — perìpatus m DEFINICIJA zool. crvonožac (Peripatus torquatus, koljeno Onychophora) veličine do 15 cm, prijelazni oblik između kolutićavaca i člankonožaca ETIMOLOGIJA peri + grč. pátos: stupanje …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Peripatus — Pe*rip a*tus, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a walking about.] (Zo[ o]l.) A genus of lowly organized arthropods, found in South Africa, Australia, and tropical America. It constitutes the order Malacopoda. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Peripătus — Peripătus, nach Audouin Gattung der Ringelwürmer: die hervorstehenden Füße sind mit weichen Haaren besetzt, ohne Borsten u. Auswuchs; Art: P. culiformis, wurmförmig, 2–3 Zoll lang, aus Cayenne …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Peripatus — Peripatus, s. Urtracheaten …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • peripatus — pe·rip·a·tus (pə rĭpʹə təs) n. See onychophoran.   [New Latin Peripatus, genus name, from Greek peripatos, walking about, from peripatein, to walk about. See peripatetic.] * * * …   Universalium

  • peripatus — noun Any onychophoran of the genus Peripatus …   Wiktionary

  • peripatus — noun Etymology: New Latin, genus name, from Greek peripatos act of walking about, from peri + patein to tread Date: circa 1931 any of a class or phylum (Onychophora) of primitive tropical wormlike invertebrates that appear intermediate between… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • peripatus — pe·rip·a·tus …   English syllables

  • peripatus — /pəˈrɪpətəs/ (say puh ripuhtuhs) noun → onychophoran. {New Latin, from Greek peripatos pacing about} …  

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