This three-year National Science Foundation project grant of $499,294 will support research on Neotropical velvet worms (Onychophora, Peripatidae, Neopatida) through June 2025. The research team from The George Washington University will document and describe new species, assess conservation status, and analyze evolutionary processes influencing biodiversity and distribution over geological time for this understudied group. High-throughput sequencing and morphological techniques will provide rigorous estimates of Onychophora diversity in the Neotropics. The team will produce velvet worm genomes and genomic probes targeting 1,000 loci to apply to fresh and museum specimens. Resulting evolutionary relationships will test hypotheses related to Caribbean biogeography. All specimens and genetic materials will be deposited at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Data will be linked to publicly accessible records through a centralized database. This award from the NSF's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) aims to increase biological knowledge and understanding of nationally significant problems through basic research, consistent with the agency's mission.