Ooperipatellus cryptus Jackson & Taylor, 1995

A named species but not yet properly described (see notes under Jackson & Taylor (1995) in the Bibliography). Listed as 'Rare' from 1995 under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, delisted in 2008. First collected in 1976 but first recognised as a new species by Tait & Briscoe (1987).

O. cryptus is exceptionally hard to find. It is the smallest Tasmanian velvet worm (mature females are rarely more than 12 mm long), and when disturbed a young individual may rapidly curl into a tight spiral which rolls away out of sight. Although it has a relatively large range (ca. 2500 km²), O. cryptus only seems to be abundant in a few places, notably the southern portion of the Christmas Hills (west of Smithton) and in the Dial Range area south of Penguin.

O. cryptus shelters in leaf litter as well as in rotting logs. Like some other oviparous velvet worms, it is known to tolerate clearfelling, burning and regeneration of its forest habitat, and has recently been found in Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus plantations (Mesibov 1998b, Bonham et al. 2002).

Localities for Ooperipatellus cryptus.  Scale bar = 100 km.
For an interactive map with more up-to-date localities, go to the mapper page.

More information:
 
Taxonomy - Jackson & Taylor (1995)
Distribution and conservation - Tait & Briscoe (1987), Mesibov (1991b), Mesibov (1993b), Mesibov (1998b), Bryant & Jackson (1999), Mesibov (2001a), Bonham et al. (2002), Mesibov et al. (2002)