The velvet worm

By Francesco Tomasinelli 

The velvet worm is one of the strangest animals in the world. Looking like a cross between an earthworm and a millipede, has no strong ties to any of them. Its taxonomic group, Onychophora is 500 million years old. It’s a shy, nocturnal invertebrate, about 10 cm long but it’s predator, able to seize small insects by squirting almost invisible glue form the head. It lives only in cloud forest in various parts of the world but it’s a rare encounter. This is a Peripatus sp. from Perù Manu National Park.  

 

 

Search

News

29-06-2010 New pictures exhibition till 31-10-2010 at Jardin des Plantes des Paris, Museè d'Histoire Naturelle: Inventaires sans frontieres (with pictures by F. Tomasinelli, X. Desmer, P. Richaud)

07-05-2010 New pictures exhibition till 01-08-2010 at Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino: "Sette storie di biodiversità"

30-03-2010 New gallery on Animals living in Italian cities 

10-03-2010 New gallery on different jobs in Genova Port for Genoa Port Center

17-02-2010 Four new small photo stories in Strange but true section

16-01-2010 New reportage on Quirimbas National Park in Mozambico

05-12-2009 New exhibit at Natural Science Museum of Bergamo, Italy - Predatori del Microcosmo until 31-01-2010

12-09-2009 More invading species pictures added

01-06-2009 More orchid mantis pictures. New gallery "Shared places" about Genoa port, landscape and citizens.

02-04-2009 New photo story on entomophagy: Insect as food

20-03-2009 Updated Caves life gallery, a look at biospeleology.

About this site

Welcome to Isopoda.net, website of Italian biologist and science photographer Francesco Tomasinelli. My favourite subjects are neglected animals, like insects, arachnids and reptiles, but I work on many other nature topics, travel, events and general photography too.

Area Riservata