Eastern Forest velvet worm

The species P. orientalis can have either 19 or 20 pairs of legs, but usually has 20 leg pairs: Out of 17 different localities sampled for this species, all samples featured specimens with 20 leg pairs, and only four included specimens with 19 leg pairs. Specimens range from 9 mm to 33 mm in length. The male genital opening is cruciform, and the female genital opening is a horizontal and small vertical slit. The dorsal surface of P. orientalis varies from dark blue to grey or orange, whereas the ventral surface is usually white but can also be light pink. When preserved, however, the dorsal color fades to a dark brown. The integument on the dorsal surface features dermal papillae that are conical or shaped like domes. The primary dorsal papillae are densely spaced and feature nine scale ranks. The ventral papillae are also densely spaced; their shape can be either conical or pyramidal. This species shares many traits with other velvet worms in the genus Peripatopsis. These shared traits include features considered characteristic for the genus, such as a cruciform genital opening in the male and variable color. This species shares more traits with the other three species in the P. sedgwicki species complex. …