Introduction

The velvet worm identification page leads to five Tasmanian species or species groups. Two of these are oviparous (egg-laying) with 14 pairs of legs and three are ovoviviparous ('live-bearing') with 15 pairs of legs. The illustration above shows how to count legs. The small appendages on either side of the mouth (oral papillae) are not legs; they are the outlets for a sticky slime which velvet worms spray out to catch their prey. The slime is presumably also used for defence, although no animals (other than human collectors!) have been seen disturbing velvet worms in Tasmania.

The common name 'velvet worm' refers to the velvety appearance of the skin, which is densely covered with tiny folds and bumps. Zoologists call these animals 'onychophorans' (and sometimes 'peripatus'). Velvet worms live mainly in forest litter and are predatory on other litter-dwelling animals. They are found in the tropics and subtropics, and in the temperate zone of the Southern Hemisphere. The number of species known from Australia has increased dramatically in recent years, and is now about 90. The global total is likely to be several hundred.

Tasmania has at least 20 species of velvet worm.They are rarely seen because they are exceptionally good at hiding, sometimes deep inside rotting logs. The densest populations of velvet worms seem to be in the open eucalypt forests in the eastern and southern portions of the Central Plateau. Velvet worms are very hard to find in some apparently suitable natural habitats, such as the lowland rainforests of the Northwest and West Coast. Oviparous species are remarkably tolerant of habitat disturbance. They can persist for long periods in tiny, degraded bush remnants on farms, and have successfully colonised Pinus radiata plantations.