Version 1
: Received: 12 January 2024 / Approved: 18 January 2024 / Online: 18 January 2024 (04:46:55 CET)
How to cite:
Monge-Najera, J. Two Centuries of Velvet Worm Research: A Brief Illustrated History of Onychophorology. Preprints2024, 2024011364. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1364.v1
Monge-Najera, J. Two Centuries of Velvet Worm Research: A Brief Illustrated History of Onychophorology. Preprints 2024, 2024011364. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1364.v1
Monge-Najera, J. Two Centuries of Velvet Worm Research: A Brief Illustrated History of Onychophorology. Preprints2024, 2024011364. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1364.v1
APA Style
Monge-Najera, J. (2024). Two Centuries of Velvet Worm Research: A Brief Illustrated History of Onychophorology. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1364.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Monge-Najera, J. 2024 "Two Centuries of Velvet Worm Research: A Brief Illustrated History of Onychophorology" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.1364.v1
Abstract
Introduction: The first velvet worm (phylum Onychophora) was described nearly two centuries ago, by a British priest, in the tiny Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. He thought it was a new type of mollusk, a slug with tiny feet. Objective: Here I present a brief biographical account of the field of onychophorology, marking nearly two hundred years since the first scientific description of velvet worms. Method: I synthetize historical records, publications, personal experience and biographical sketches to construct an encompassing narrative of the field's development through the lives of researchers who have shaped it. Results: The narrative begins with Lansdown Guilding's initial discovery and extends to include pivotal figures like Jean Victor Audouin, Charles Émile Blanchard, Adolph Eduard Grube, Lorenzo Camerano, Eugène Louis Bouvier, Sidnie Milana Manton, Sylvia S. Campiglia, Roger Lavallard, Hilke Ruhberg, and Bernal Morera-Brenes. Contributions from Noel Tait, Robert Mesibov, Georg Mayer, Cristiano Sampaio, Ivo de Sena Oliveira, and José Pablo Barquero-González are also acknowledged. The article highlights their individual contributions to onychophorology, considering their scientific achievements and personal journeys, and presents portraits of nearly all of them. Conclusion: Our current knowledge of onychophorans is the results of hundreds of contributions from a large number of people who have lived varied, sometimes fascinating lives, but all united in their interest in velvet worms.
Keywords
History of science; Scientific Biography; Historical Research; Onychophorology; Velvet Worms; Scientific Legacy.
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
