Epiperipatus is the most diverse genus of neotropical velvet worms in the family Peripatidae. Species in this genus are found in Central and South America. This genus is viviparous, with mothers supplying nourishment to their embryos through a placenta.
Description Several traits are considered diagnostic for this genus. These traits include the number of scale ranks (four to eighteen) on the basal piece of the primary papillae, four complete spinous pads of the soles of the feet of the fourth and fifth pairs of legs, sometimes with vestiges of a fifth pad, a nephridial tubercle on the fourth and fifth leg pairs, located between the third and fourth spinous pads, and in males, one to three pairs of pregenital legs with crural papillae. Velvet worms in this genus can have as few as 23 leg pairs (in E. hyperbolicus) or as many as 39 leg pairs (in E. titanicus).
Species The genus contains the following species:
Epiperipatus acacioi (Marcus & Marcus, 1955) Epiperipatus adenocryptus Oliveira et al., 2011 Epiperipatus barbadensis (Froehlich, 1962) Epiperipatus barbouri (Brues, 1911) Epiperipatus beckeri Costa, Chagas & Pinto-da-Rocha, 2018 Epiperipatus bernali Costa & Giribet, 2021 Epiperipatus betheli (Cockerell, 1913) Epiperipatus biolleyi (Bouvier, 1902) Epiperipatus brasiliensis (Bouvier, 1899) Epiperipatus broadwayi (Clark, 1913) Epiperipatus cratensis Brito, Pereira, Ferreira, Vasconscellos & Almeida, 2010 Epiperipatus diadenoproctus Oliveira et al., 2011 Epiperipatus edwardsii (Blanchard, 1847) Epiperipatus evansi (Bouvier, 1904) Epiperipatus enymari Chagas-Jr & Costa, 2025 Epiperipatus hilkae Morera-Brenes and Monge-Najera, 1990 Epiperipatus hyperbolicus Costa, Chagas & Pinto-da-Rocha, 2018 Epiperipatus imthurni (Sclater, 1888) Epiperipatus isthmicola (Bouvier, 1902) Epiperipatus lewisi (Arnett, 1961) Epiperipatus lucerna Costa, Chagas & Pinto-da-Rocha, 2018 Epiperipatus machadoi (Oliveira & Wieloch, 2005) Epiperipatus marajoara Costa, Chagas & Pinto-da-Rocha, 2018 Epiperipatus ohausi (Bouvier, 1900) Epiperipatus paurognostus Oliveira et al., 2011 Epiperipatus puri Costa, Mendes & de Leão Giupponi, 2023 Epiperipatus simoni (Bouvier, 1898) Epiperipatus titanicus Costa, Chagas & Pinto-da-Rocha, 2018 Epiperipatus torrealbai Scorza, 1953 Epiperipatus trinidadensis (Sedgwick, 1888) Epiperipatus vagans (Brues, 1925) Epiperipatus vespuccii Brues, 1914
Epiperipatus nicaraguensis (Bouvier, 1900) and Epiperipatus tucupi (Froehlich, 1968) are considered nomina dubia by Oliveira et al. 2012.
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