A multiscale approach reveals elaborate circulatory system and intermittent heartbeat in velvet worms (Onychophora)

An antagonistic hemolymph-muscular system is essential for soft-bodied invertebrates. Many ecdysozoans (molting animals) possess neither a heart nor a vascular or circulatory system, whereas most arthropods exhibit a well-developed circulatory system. How did this system evolve and how was it subsequently modified in panarthropod lineages? As the closest relatives of arthropods and tardigrades, onychophorans (velvet worms) represent a key group for addressing this question. We therefore analyzed the entire circulatory system of the peripatopsid Euperipatoides rowelli and discovered a surprisingly elaborate organization. Our findings suggest that the last common ancestor of Onychophora and Arthropoda most likely possessed an open vascular system, a posteriorly closed heart with segmental ostia, a pericardial sinus filled with nephrocytes and an impermeable pericardial septum, whereas the evolutionary origin of plical and pericardial channels is unclear. Our study further revealed an intermittent heartbeat—regular breaks of rhythmic, peristaltic contractions of the heart—in velvet worms, which might stimulate similar investigations in arthropods.