How can you help? Potential sources of funding for peripatus protection work: DOC—Biodiversity Condition Fund, Biodiversity Advice Any forest on or near your property Fund, Nature Heritage Fund, Nga Whenua Rahui Peripatus may be home to peripatus. Therefore, you can help by: Ministry for the Environment—Community Environment Fund • Protecting forest areas by fencing out stock, and QEII Trust Covenants A guide to New Zealand’s controlling browsing and Lotteries Environment and Heritage grants velvet worms / ngaokeoke predatory animal pests and World Wildlife Fund—Habitat Protection Fund, weeds Conservation Innovation Fund, Environmental Education • Enhancing forest areas by Action Fund planting local native plants, Dunedin City Council Biodiversity fund e.g. tree fuchsia (Fuchsia Transpower Community Care Fund excorticata) AirNZ Environmental Trust • Considering the need for corridors, linkages and riparian ASB Community Trust strips • Retaining fallen trees, logs and forest floor debris, and avoiding breaking apart old rotten logs • Considering legally protecting the land by gift or sale to create a reserve, or retaining ownership but creating a QEII Trust or Ooperipatellus viridimaculatus Reserves Act covenant Further information • Volunteering on revegetation Department of Conservation projects Conservation House, • Reporting any sightings to the 77 Lower Stuart Street, Dunedin Department of Conservation Phone: 03 477 0677; email: [email protected] www.teara.govt.nz/en/peripatus/1 www.onychophora.com/ Production of this pamphlet was made possible by the Department of Conservation and NZTA All peripatus photos: Rod Morris; www.rodmorris.co.nz Cover: Peripatoides novaezealandiae Published by: Department of Conservation ōtepoti/Dunedin Office PO Box 5244, Dunedin 9058 New Zealand March 2014 Editing and design: Publishing Team, DOC National Office Peripatoides sp. ‘Mt Peel’ Peripatus are unusual animals Where are they found? of the forest floor. Called ONYCHOPHORA— Peripatus are distributed around ‘living fossils’ because they Peripatopsidae the equator and southern are remarkably unchanged New Zealand has possibly 30 hemisphere. They are found from 500 million years ago species of peripatus, but only in most forested parts of New and a ‘missing link’ for their 9 have been described: Zealand, but also linger in remnant similarity to both worms and Peripatoides aurorbis patches, scrub and gardens. They are also occasionally found in insects, they attract much Peripatoides suteri Peripatoides indigo pasture, alpine and city park sites. scientific interest—yet they are Peripatoides indigo The velvety skin of peripatus has cryptic, reclusive and not well Peripatoides sympatrica Peripatoides kawakaensis permanently open pores, which understood. Apparent declines Peripatoides morgani means that they can easily dry in populations as a result of Peripatoides novaezealandiae out. Consequently, they are mostly habitat loss from development found in shady, cool and damp Ooperipatellus viridimaculatus areas. They hide deep within have led to more attention Ooperipatellus nanus rotting logs and under leaves and being focused on what can be They appear superficially similar debris during the day, venturing done to protect them. although with 14, 15 or 16 pairs of out at night to prey on other legs. Ooperipatellus lay eggs rather invertebrates, which they catch What are peripatus? than bearing live young. with jets of sticky fluid. Peripatus or velvet worms are Peripatoides sp. invertebrate animals that range in adult and young length from 2 to 8 cm. They look a bit like caterpillars and have pairs of stumpy legs along the length of their Why do they need protection? body. They are believed to live for Peripatus are subject to four major threats: about 5 years and the females can produce 10–20 offspring each year. Habitat loss—The clearing of forests and removal Some species lay eggs, but most of the rotting logs and stumps that peripatus live in hatch them internally and bear live Predators—Introduced birds, rats and young. hedgehogs may eat individuals Peripatus are so different from other Collectors—Collectors may have an invertebrates that they have their impact both directly, through the own phylum: Onychophora. This removal of adults, and indirectly, uniqueness makes them important by disturbing peripatus habitat in studying the evolutionary and geographic relationships of animals. Insufficient knowledge— There are approximately 200 Not enough is known about species of peripatus worldwide. In how many species New Zealand New Zealand, there may be up to has, their ecology and 30 different species; however, only distribution 9 species belonging to two genera (Peripatoides and Ooperipatellus) Distribution of New Zealand's Peripatoides and Ooperipatellus species (after Trewick 2000). have been described to date. Red spots and circles = additional records of uncertain species. .