| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SLAYTOR M. シドニ大学, コン虫学科, 教授
YAMAGISHI Hiroshi Tsukuba University, 生物科学系, 講師 (80092534)
OTOKAWA Minoru Hosei University, 社会学部, 教授 (70072923)
AIHARA Yasutugu Tokyo Metropolitan University, 理学部, 教授 (70091874)
TANAKA Kosuke Kyorin University School of Medicine, 医学部, 助手 (50236585)
KUROKAWA Makoto Tokyo Metropolitan University, 理学部, 助手 (50211222)
YAZAWA Tohru Tokyo Metropolitan University, 理学部, 助手 (30106603)
KUWASAWA Kiyoaki Tokyo Metropolitan University, 理学部, 教授 (10015589)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥8,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥8,200,000)
Fiscal Year 1994: ¥8,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥8,200,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Members of the phylum Onychophora, commonly referred to as peripatus or velvet worms, are found to-day on land masses derived from the break up of Gondwana ; in South America, Africa, Australasia and a Gondwanan fragment that is now part of South-East Asia. In Australia, onychophorans belong to the family Peripatopsidae (also occurring in South Africa, New Zealand, New Guinea and Chile) and are restricted to the moist forests of the east coast from North Queensland to Tasmania, in the Mt.Lofty Ranges of South Australia and the south-western corner of Western Australia. Of the approximately 100 species of Onychophora world wide, Australia was reported to possess seven (Ruhberg, 1985 and further reviewed by Tait et al., 1990). However, Australia has recently been shown to possess a far greater radiation of these animals than previously reported. While many of these new species were initially identified by genetic techniques of allozyme electrophoresis (Briscoe & Tait, 1995) and chromosom
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e morphology (Rowell, et al., 1995), others are quite morphologically distinctive in possessing a variety of characteristic head structures in males used to carry spermatophores that are transferred to the genital opening of the female (Tait & Briscoe, 1990).
Peripatus in Australia are found in moist micro-habitats of rotting logs, under logs and stones, in leaf litter and in soil. While some species would appear to be rare, others can be locally abundant. Some species are confined to small geographic ranges while others are more wide spread (Tait, pers.comm.).
Euperipatoides leuckartii (Saenger) was the first species described from Australia in 1862 and redescribed its distribution reported to extend from southern Queensland to Tasmania.(Ruhberg, 1985). Another closely related species has been identified from Kanangra Boyd National Park in the adjacent Great Dividing Range.
The specimens of Euperipatoides sp from this site will be formally described soon and hopefully in time to be included in any papers emanating from these studies. All speciments of Euperipatoides sp were obtained by breaking open rotten logs. The exact location of the site is 33^* 59' S 150^* 08' E. Less
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