Velvet worms, "peripatus" or onychophorans, are "living fossils" that were geographically widespread in Cambrian seas but now occur exclusively on terrestrial habitats. The only extant species studied in some detail are those from Costa Rica, but their real geographic distribution was in urgent need of revision. To solve this problem we visited the localities mentioned in all the original taxonomic descriptions and redescriptions. These visits covered a 25 year period and included interviews with local residents. We also examined all Costa Rican collections, and checked the information in old maps and books. Here we critically review geographic data, correct errors, assign neotype localities, report on the survival of populations after heavy volcanic eruptions or urbanization, and present the correct geographical distribution for the seven currently described Costa Rican species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (4): 1401-1414. Epub 2016 December 01.

Introduction: Neotropical onychophoran taxonomy and diversity has been poorly investigated. Recent studies have discovered problems in species classification: they have questioned the accepted genera and the actual number of species. This is true in Costa Rica, where several unidentified species have been reported. Objective: The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the occurrence of the accepted genera in this country, and to describe a new genus and species from Central America. Methods: In 2017, we collected one onychophoran in the Keköldi Indigenous Reserve in Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica. The specimen gave birth to several offspring. Therefore, seven organisms were analyzed. Light microscopy was used to observe the gross morphology in all samples. The detailed morphology was studied in the biggest specimen with scanning electron microscopy; after that, we performed a phylogenetic analysis with the corresponding sequence of COI. Results: According to our results, a new genus and species of giant onychophoran was found. The genus was identified by its giant size, apical piece of seven scale ranks, large conical primary papillae, dorso-median furrow flanked by two-three accessory papillae, the absence of hyaline organs and a marked sexual dimorphism with respect to the number of legs. The new species presents a particular head pattern, as well as novel structures like cephalic papillae, accessory papillae with rudimentary apical pieces, and a lack of antennal chemoreceptors. Phylogenetic analysis rendered our genus as monophyletic and includes Peripatus solorzanoi, which is grouped within the Central American clade. As our species is clustered inside the Costa Rica-Panamanian group, it is not related to the Caribbean Island nor Guyanan Shield samples, home of Epiperipatus and Peripatus respectively. Therefore, we suggest that those genera do not occur in Central America, and a new genus exists: Mongeperipatus, gen. nov. Conclusion: We concluded that Costa Rica is home to a diversity of undescribed onychophorans that requires specific studies to help clarify the taxonomy and evolutionary relationships of the group to justify their protection.

We report, for the first time in onychophorans, food hiding, parental feeding investment and an ontogenetic diet shift two weeks after birth: from the parent’s adhesive used to capture prey, to the prey itself.

Introduction: Even though snake declines seem to be a reality in many parts of the world, some reports are based on anecdotal evidence and there is a need of prolonged and intensive studies, especially in the tropics, for corroboration. Objective: To investigate if snake populations in Drake Bay are decreasing, and if there is a relationship with prey, time, temperature, rain and moonlight. Methods: We counted snakes seen per hour when walking along a single trail in the coastal forest of Drake Bay, Costa Rica. We walked the trail at night for a total of 842 nights (over 4 000 hours of observations), from 2012 through 2017 and recorded all the individual snakes we could see with head flashlights. We used ANOVA tests to check correlations among counts per hour with moonlight and rain; and graphic analysis for associations with diet, temperature, month and year. Results: We recorded 25 species (five families); which feed mostly on terrestrial vertebrates. Counts per hour have fallen over the years, especially for species that prey on amphibians and reptiles; Mastigodryas melanolomus has remained in similar numbers; and Siphlophis compressus has not been seen since May 2016. Temperature is relatively constant along the year in Drake, but month strongly affected the counts, which increased from August to September. Most species were seen more often in rainy nights (0.11 per hour versus only 0.03 per hour in nights without rain, ANOVA P < 0.05); we saw less Leptodeira septentrionalis on bright nights (0.12 per hour, versus 0.21 per hour in dark nights; ANOVA, P = 0.01), but all other species were unaffected by moonlight (ANOVA, P > 0.05). Conclusion: Night field counts of snakes in Drake Bay, Costa Rica, are not strongly affected by light or temperature, but are lower when there is no rain and show a strong decline from 2012 through 2017, particularly for species that feed on amphibians and reptiles. We have no reason to believe that the decline is an erroneous interpretation or that the snakes moved elsewhere, the decline of snakes in Drake seems to be real and needs attention from the conservation authorities.