Onychophora

E450910

Onychophora, commonly known as velvet worms, is a small phylum of soft-bodied, segmented invertebrates that bridge characteristics of annelids and arthropods and are notable for their unique slime-shooting predatory behavior.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Onychophora canonical 2

Statements (74)

Predicate Object
instanceOf phylum
taxon
clade Panarthropoda NERFINISHED
commonName velvet worms
distribution Africa NERFINISHED
Australasia NERFINISHED
Central America NERFINISHED
South America NERFINISHED
Southeast Asia NERFINISHED
hasCharacteristic adhesive slime used to capture prey
ancient lineage dating back to Cambrian relatives
antennae
body covered with papillae
body length typically 0.5 to 20 centimeters
carnivorous diet
chitinous claws
cryptic coloration
cutaneous respiration
direct development
flexible cuticle
fossil relatives known as lobopodians
growth by molting
hemocoel
hydrostatic skeleton
important for understanding arthropod origins
internal fertilization
lack of free-living larval stage
ladder-like nervous system
limited geographic ranges in many species
low dispersal ability
moist habitat preference
nocturnal behavior
non-calcified cuticle
number of leg pairs typically between 13 and 43
open circulatory system
oral papillae
oral papillae used to eject slime
oviparous reproduction in some species
ovoviviparous reproduction in some species
pair of ventral nerve cords
paired slime glands opening via oral papillae
preference for humid tropical and temperate forests
preference for leaf litter and rotting logs
prey digestion via external enzymes
prey includes small arthropods
prey includes termites and insects
segmented body
segmented gonads
segmented nephridia
sensitivity to desiccation
separate sexes
sexual dimorphism in some species
simple eyes
slime glands
slime-shooting predation
slow evolutionary rate in morphology
slow movement
soft-bodied
spermatophore-based reproduction in many species
terrestrial lifestyle
tracheal respiratory system
unjointed lobopod legs
velvety integument
viviparous reproduction in some species
hasOrder Peripatidae NERFINISHED
Peripatopsidae NERFINISHED
hasUse model for panarthropod evolution
kingdom Animalia
relatedTo Annelida NERFINISHED
Arthropoda NERFINISHED
studiedIn comparative morphology
evolutionary biology
phylogenetics
superphylum Ecdysozoa NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Protostomia includes Onychophora
Tardigrada relatedTo Onychophora