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Typhloperipatus williamsoni
April 16 , 2025
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- The researchers have rediscovered a long-lost species of the velvet worms (the phylum Onychophora) after 111 years.
- It is one of the oldest living fossils in the world.
- Named as Typhloperipatus williamsoni, the ancient species are estimated to be around 220 million years old
- Onycophora is a very old group, easily older than 350 million years.
- It has only two families and not more than 200 species.
- The molecular data from T. williamsoni indicated that South Asian onychophoras split from their neotropical (Central and South America including southern parts of Mexico and the Caribbean).
- It is the only African relatives around 237 million years ago.
- The Asian onycophora were found to have no more relatives among the Australian onychophoras.
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