![On the path of a misplaced relic [Commentary]](https://foreignshoresnrinews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG20220424090847-e1756970310751-768x512.jpg)
- A scientific expedition to the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh led to the rediscovery of the velvet worm after 111 years.
- Velvet worms have a wealthy evolutionary historical past, providing beneficial insights into the early evolution of land animals.
- Defending these hidden evolutionary relics calls for pressing habitat conservation, focused analysis, and larger public consciousness, writes the writer of this commentary.
- The views on this commentary are that of the writer.
As entomologists, we spend numerous hours within the discipline, meticulously observing and accumulating information on bugs. But, sometimes, nature rewards our persistence with some surprising discovery, one that gives a uncommon glimpse into its hidden secrets and techniques. An expedition to Siang Valley did simply that – it led to the rediscovery of a long-lost velvet worm (Onychophora) after greater than a century.
Nestled throughout the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley showcases an unparalleled wealth of variety. The valley’s lush greenery is house to elusive wildlife and numerous bugs, whereas the rhythmic sounds of the forest and the river’s roar create a fascinating symphony. Indigenous communities have coexisted with this wilderness for hundreds of years, including cultural depth to its ecological richness. A spot of uncooked magnificence and scientific marvel, Siang Valley stays one in every of India’s nice frontiers, the place nature’s secrets and techniques are nonetheless ready to be unveiled.
The early ‘Abor Expedition’ to the Siang Valley, in 1911–1912, in the course of the interval of colonial rule, was initially a punitive navy marketing campaign, launched by the British in response to the killing of Noel Williamson, a British political officer, by the indigenous folks there. This resulted within the Anglo-Abor Wars (1911-1912), a collection of conflicts between the Adi tribes and the British forces. Recognising the valley’s untapped ecological wealth, a scientific expedition was launched alongside navy operations to systematically doc the Siang Valley’s pure historical past and geographical options. This expedition resulted within the assortment of quite a few organic specimens, together with the primary recorded specimen of velvet worm Typhloperipatus williamsoni from South Asia, described by the zoologist Stanley Kemp in 1913.
Over a century later, our staff of researchers took a collection of expeditions underneath the banner “Siang Expedition,” funded by the Nationwide Geographic Society by the wildlife-conservation expedition grant, to resurvey the biodiversity of the area. These expeditions carried out by our staff throughout 2021 (April), 2022 (April–Might), and 2023 (Might) contributed hundreds of vegetation and animal specimens belonging to numerous orders and households.
Learn extra: Retracing the route of a century-old biodiversity expedition
Throughout one in every of these expeditions, our staff began a trek on Might 17, 2023, from the Yingku village neighborhood censer within the East Siang district, assisted by our discipline assistant, Talem Mize. We headed into the japanese forests. After a protracted trek spent setting traps and accumulating bugs, our staff was making its method again when our senior researcher, Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, all of a sudden stopped. He gazed upward at an unlimited tree—so tall and straight it emerged removed from the cover, its roots hidden from our view. Noticing our curiosity, our discipline assistant gestured towards a deep slope and stated, “The bottom is down there”. Together with his trademark curiosity glowing in his eyes, Priyan declared. ‘Let’s go see what’s hiding beneath!” With out hesitation, we determined to set forth anticipating some surprises hiding there. The treacherous, steep terrain compelled us to slip and tumble a number of occasions. After a lot slipping and falling, we lastly reached the bottom of the towering tree. From that vantage level, nonetheless, its high was misplaced within the dense cover above, and our ft had been struggling to get a maintain.
The place was wealthy in leaf litter, precisely what we had been hoping for. For an entomologist, a deep, untouched leaf litter mattress is limitless prospects ready to be explored. Excited, we set to work instantly, aspirator in hand, scanning each crevice for bugs. I noticed a couple of Crematogaster ants, however as quickly as I collected one, the others disappeared. Decided to search out extra, I lifted fallen logs, overturned rocks, and sifted by the litter.
Then, underneath one boulder, I noticed an unfamiliar worm-like creature crawling slowly. There’s a novel thrill in discovering one thing fully surprising. In that second, I couldn’t name anybody; I used to be too engrossed, too cautious to not lose sight of it. Normally, once I miss a specimen, it endures in my thoughts for days. That too; this was one thing much more particular. It was a velvet worm.
The tiny creature moved fantastically, its segmented physique and quite a few legs gliding throughout the damp earth. It was a juvenile, pink in color, waving its delicate antennae because it tried to burrow again into the mud. Rigorously, I collected it, shaking palms with pleasure. Sensing hazard, it spurted a white mucus thread in self-defence. This sticky, proteinaceous secretion is to entangle prey after which ship a venomous chew; this behaviour accounts for his or her various identify, spitting worms.
We had simply discovered a velvet worm, Typhloperipatus williamsoni.
Velvet worms are an historical and cryptic group of soil-dwelling invertebrates that share traits with each arthropods and tardigrades (water bears)- a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals recognized from deep seas to mountaintops. Velvet worms had been as soon as believed to be sisters to annelids and arthropods. Like annelids, they’ve a gentle, metameric segmented physique, whereas their arthropod-like options embody the presence of a cuticle, a central blood vessel, and versatile, unjointed legs that may transfer in numerous methods. Referred to as ‘dwelling fossils,’ velvet worms have a wealthy evolutionary historical past, providing beneficial insights into the early evolution of land animals.
The rediscovery of velvet worms is ecologically and scientifically profound. These historical, elusive invertebrates present distinctive insights into evolutionary biology, biodiversity, and ecosystem well being. As a result of they’re habitat specialists with little capacity to disperse, their presence is an indication of wealthy, undisturbed forests. Every new specimen gives extra alternatives for molecular and morphological research that assist make clear species boundaries, evolutionary relationships, and biogeographic histories, tracing continental drift, speciation, and lineage diversification. Such rediscoveries not solely deepen our understanding of hidden biodiversity but additionally present important information for conservation and evolutionary analysis.
That Typhloperipatus williamsoni remained unseen for over a century underscores simply how troublesome velvet worms are to check. Their nocturnal, leaf-litter-dwelling life-style, mixed with extraordinarily restricted ranges and small populations, makes them laborious to identify even throughout intensive surveys. Traditionally, they’ve additionally acquired little analysis consideration in comparison with extra charismatic or economically vital species. Including to this problem, lots of their habitats are distant, underexplored, or threatened.
Defending these hidden evolutionary relics calls for pressing habitat conservation, focused analysis, and larger public consciousness. With out such motion, historical lineages like Typhloperipatus williamsoni could disappear earlier than we are able to absolutely perceive their function in ecosystems.
The writer is a researcher on the Insect Biosystematics and Conservation Laboratory, ATREE Bangalore.
Banner picture: An expedition to Siang Valley led to the rediscovery of a long-lost velvet worm after greater than a century. Picture by Sahanashree Ramakrishnaiah.
