Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • An order of Myriapoda established for the reception of the single genus Peripatus. Also called Peripatidea, Malacopoda, and Onychopoda.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun plural (Zoöl.) Malacopoda.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A taxonomic phylum within the superphylum Protostomia — the velvet worms.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun enigmatic small elongated wormlike terrestrial invertebrates of damp dark habitats in warm regions; distinct from the phylum Annelida; resemble slugs with legs and are sometimes described as the missing link between arthropods and annelids

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Nearly half the phyla of animals occur only in the sea (e.g., the sea stars and other echinoderms), whereas only one (the obscure Onychophora, or velvet worms) is restricted to land.

    Biodiversity 2009

  • The primitive phylum Onychophora (between worm and insect) is particularly important, with at least five species out of a global total of only 200.

    Greater Blue Mountains Area, Australia 2009

  • Most species of the Onychophora genus Opisthopatus are found in this hotspot; one of two species in the genus, O. roseus (CR), is extremely rare and known only from Ngeli Forest near Kokstad.

    Biological diversity in Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany 2008

  • The hotspot is also home to many species of the phylum Onychophora (velvet worms), a fascinating group of ancient, caterpillar-like animals that are the most primitive group to walk with the body raised up on legs.

    Biological diversity in Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany 2008

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