Skip to main content
284 Featured Specimen
Velvet worm

Details

Velvet worm

Peripatus juliformis

Size
2–15 cm · 1–10 g
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Sociality
Solitary
Lifespan
1-5 years

The velvet worm is a soft-bodied invertebrate of moist Neotropical forests. It is a solitary nocturnal carnivore with an unusual hunting method.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
NeotropicalNeotropicalNeotropicalNeotropicalNeotropicalNeotropicalNeotropicalNeotropical

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It lives under leaf litter, rotting wood, and stones in humid forest. Moist microhabitats are essential because the body dries easily.

Appearance

Length is about 2-15 cm and weight about 1-10 g. The velvety body carries many short legs, and antennae probe the surroundings.

Behavior

It is nocturnal and solitary. It walks slowly, then sprays sticky slime to immobilize prey when close enough.

Feeding

It is carnivorous, taking small insects and other arthropods. Prey tangled in slime is bitten and softened with digestive fluids.

Reproduction

Depending on species, velvet worms may lay eggs or give birth to live young. Young resemble small adults and grow in damp shelters.

Notes

Its conservation status is LC. Its moisture needs make it sensitive to drying and forest change.