Title

Not that smooth: Evolution and biogeography of velvet worms (Onychophora)

Abstract

Velvet worms, the members of the phylum Onychophora, are terrestrial ecdysozoans that share a lot of the conditions of the so-called living fossils (old age, morphological stasis, low diversity). They are secretive predators of humid temperate to tropical forests and an animal group with some of the most narrowly delimited species ranges known. Ancestors almost identical to the extant species already lived in terrestrial ecosystems at least in the Carboniferous. Because of their old age, restricted dispersal abilities and conservation priorities, velvet worms have become a group of interest for  evolutionary and ecological biogeographers. Here I will present some of our current research on velvet worm evolution and contrast the history of the two families, Peripatopsidae and Peripatidae, in terms of their phylogenetic patterns and a possible relation to their varied reproductive modes.