New to Nature No 47: Peripatus solorzanoi A new species of velvet worm is much bigger than any of its cousins

The giant velvet worm. Photograph by Bernal Morera Brenes and Julian Monge-Nájera/Universidad Nacional Costa Rica

A new species of onychophora – or velvet worm – from Costa Rica is, at 22cm, about one-third larger than the previous record. In fact, its baby is larger than adults of most other onychophora.

Peripatus solorzanoi shortly after birth can spin a glue-net to capture prey and defend itself. And like other peripatidae, it has a placenta and gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

Although onychophora have existed since the Cambrian, and include more than 100 living species, all are rare. They remain of interest to evolutionary biologists because of their mixture of worm and arthropod characters and because they were among the first walking terrestrial animals.

Quentin Wheeler is director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, Arizona State University