Collaborative Research: PurSUiT: Understanding the Neotropical Velvet Worms (Onychophora, Peripatidae, Neopatida), a Cretaceous Radiation of Terrestrial Panarthropods

天鹅绒蠕虫（Onychophora）是一种古老的陆生无脊椎动物，化石记录可追溯到石炭纪。它们在3亿年的历史中基本保持不变，因此被认为是“活化石”。 因此，天鹅绒蠕虫是一个理想的模型，以研究动物如何在没有任何显着的形态变化的情况下，在很长一段地质时间内成功地殖民不同的环境和位置。由于天鹅绒蠕虫是罕见的，主要栖息在偏远的森林，他们是相对较少的研究。这项研究将集中在最不了解的一组天鹅绒蠕虫，新热带区Peripatidae。研究人员将记录和描述所有新发现的物种，评估它们的保护状况，并分析影响物种多样性和分布的进化过程。 研究团队和几名受训人员将联合收割机结合尖端的分子方法与现代解剖学方法，以推进我们对这一研究群体的多样性和进化历史的了解。一个100平方英尺的展览将为哈佛自然历史博物馆开发，以探索天鹅绒蠕虫的生物多样性，地理学，生态学和进化。展览还将为相关的公共项目提供机会，包括讲座和K-12活动。一个严格的估计Onychophora物种多样性在新热带区将提供使用高通量序列数据和尖端形态学技术的应用。这项研究将产生高质量的onychophorans基因组和UCE（超保守元件）探针组，目标是约1,000个基因组位点，将应用于新鲜和博物馆保存的标本。由此产生的进化分组将用于测试有关加勒比海地理学的假设，包括牙买加和波多黎各的特定辐射以及小安的列斯群岛的殖民化。研究分类群的所有标本和遗传产品将存放在哈佛大学比较动物学博物馆。所有标本数据，包括图像、视频和基因组数据，将通过一个集中的数据库与公开的标本记录相关联。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Velvet worms (Onychophora) are ancient terrestrial invertebrates with a fossil record dating back to the Carboniferous. They have remained largely unchanged morphologically over their 300 million year history, and are thus considered “living fossils”. Velvet worms are therefore an ideal model to investigate how animals successfully colonize different environments and locations over long periods of geological time in the absence of any significant morphological change. Because velvet worms are rare and mainly inhabit remote forests, they are relatively poorly studied. This research will focus on the least-understood group of velvet worms, the Neotropical Peripatidae. The researchers will document and describe all newly discovered species, assess their conservation status, and analyze the evolutionary processes affecting species diversity and distribution through geological time. The research team and several trainees will combine cutting-edge molecular approaches with modern anatomical methods to advance our knowledge of the diversity and evolutionary history of this under-studied group. A 100-square-foot exhibit will be developed for the Harvard Museum of Natural History to explore the biodiversity, biogeography, ecology and evolution of velvet worms. The exhibit will also provide the opportunity for associated public programs, including lectures and K-12 activities. A rigorous estimate of Onychophora species diversity in the Neotropical region will be provided by using high throughput sequence data and by the application of cutting-edge morphological techniques. This research will produce high-quality genomes for onychophorans and a UCE (ultra-conserved elements) probe set targeting about 1,000 genomic loci that will be applied to fresh and museum-preserved specimens. The resulting evolutionary groupings will be used to test hypotheses related to Caribbean biogeography, including specific radiations in Jamaica and Puerto Rico and the colonization of the Lesser Antilles. All specimens and genetic products of the study taxa will be deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. All specimen data, including images, videos, and genomic data, will be linked to publicly available specimen records through a centralized database.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.