Ooperipatellus decoratus

The male of the species O. decoratus can range from 9 mm to 16 mm in length, whereas the female can range from 13 mm to 25 mm in length. Each antenna in adults features 51 rings, but the antennae in juveniles can have as few as 29 rings. The jaw features two blades, an inner blade and an outer blade. The inner blade of the jaw features one large tooth, five to seven (usually six) accessory teeth, and no diastema. The outer blade of the jaw feature one large tooth and no accessory teeth. This species features 14 pairs of legs, with the last pair fully developed and bearing claws. The dorsal surface of the body features 12 complete plicae (transverse ridges) per segment. Each foot features three spinous pads and three distal papillae (one anterior, one median, and one posterior), but no basal papillae. On the fourth and fifth leg pairs, a nephridial tubercle divides the third spinous pad in the middle. In the male, the crural glands open on crural papillae on the ventral surface of the legs on leg pairs 6 through 13. The crural glands of leg pair 13 are long and extend into the body cavity, but these glands are short and usually confined to the legs on leg pairs 6 through 12. The gonopore in the male is cruciform, with the cross dividing the genital pad completely along both the transverse and longitudinal axes. …

This species is found in western Tasmania. This velvet worm has been recorded as far north as Christmas Hills and as far east as the Central Plateau. This species has been collected as far south as Port Davey Track in Southwest National Park. O. decoratus prefers to live in and under decaying and rotten logs and bark. This velvet worm can also be found under moss and on trees, under the bark and near the ground. Many specimens have been collected from moist woodland featuring mature Eucalyptus delegatensis trees, a shrub layer of Coprosma nitida, Pultenaea juniperina, Tasmannia lanceolata, and Asteraceae (such as Helichrysum and Olearia), and a ground layer of Diplarrena moraea. This species is also found in temperate rainforests with Atherosperma moschatum, Leptospermum lanigerum, and Dicksonia antarctica.

The female of the species O. decoratus lays eggs, which are produced in a single unpaired ovary. The eggs pass from the ovary through a pair of oviducts to the paired uteri. The uteri in adult females hold a varying number of eggs (from one to 20). The eggs are shaped like ovals measuring 2 mm in length and 1.4 mm in width. Most eggs in the uteri contain yolk, but some eggs hold pale embryos in varying stages of development. Immature eggs with yolk and those with embryos are not arranged in order, instead alternating irregularly in the uteri. The eggs when laid are the same size and shape as they are in the uteri. Juveniles can hatch about six or seven months after the eggs are laid, but those laid with embryos take less time to develop, and those laid with yolk take more time.