Onychophora Temporal range:
stem group from Cambrian | |
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Oroperipatus sp. (Peripatidae) | |
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Ooperipatellus sp. (Peripatopsidae) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Subkingdom: | Eumetazoa |
Clade: | ParaHoxozoa |
Clade: | Bilateria |
Clade: | Nephrozoa |
(unranked): | Protostomia |
Superphylum: | Ecdysozoa |
(unranked): | Panarthropoda |
Phylum: | Onychophora Grube, 1850 |
Subgroups | |
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Global range of Onychophora extant Peripatidae fossils
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Onychophora /ɒnɪˈkɒfərə/ (from Ancient Greek: ονυχής, onyches, "claws"; and φέρειν, pherein, "to carry"), commonly known as velvet worms (due to their velvety texture and somewhat wormlike appearance) or more ambiguously as peripatus /pəˈrɪpətəs/ (after the first described genus, Peripatus), is a phylum of elongate, soft-bodied, many-legged animals.[1][2] In appearance they have variously been compared to worms with legs, caterpillars, and slugs.[3] They prey upon other invertebrates, which they catch by ejecting an adhesive slime. Approximately 200 species of velvet worms have been described, although the true number of species is likely greater. The two extant families of velvet worms are Peripatidae and Peripatopsidae. They show a peculiar distribution, with the peripatids being predominantly equatorial and tropical, while the peripatopsids are all found south of the equator. It is the only phylum within Animalia that is wholly endemic to terrestrial environments, at least among extant members.[4][5] Velvet worms are generally considered close relatives of the Arthropoda and Tardigrada, with which they form the proposed taxon Panarthropoda.[6] This makes them of palaeontological interest, as they can help reconstruct the ancestral arthropod. Only two fossil species are confidently assigned as onychophorans: Antennipatus from the Late Carboniferous, and Cretoperipatus from the Late Cretaceous, the latter belonging to Peripatidae.[5][7] In modern zoology, they are particularly renowned for their curious mating behaviours and the bearing of live young in some species.
Because they resemble worms with legs ... Superficially they resemble caterpillars, but have also been compared with slugs
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