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Encyclopedia: Velvet worm

Onychophores are apparently descended from some segmented form but have lost their overt segmentation except for the head which is composed of three segments. There are two antennae on the first head segment and usually a pair of eyes. The second head segment has a mouth. Unlike arthropods, the animal does not have a stiff exoskeleton. Their skin (cuticle) is covered with fine hair (papillae) giving a velvet-like feel and accounting for their popular name of "velvet worms". The cuticle is shed periodically to allow growth. Although the body has several dozen repeated leg pairs, it is not actually segmented, like, say, annelids. The true coelom, like that of arthropods, is restricted almost entirely to the gonadal cavities. The hemocoel is also arthropod-like, being partitioned into sinuses, including a dorsal pericardial sinus. The entire structure is supported by blood pumped by a heart. Legs are tipped by chitinous claws and walking pads used on smooth surfaces. Onychophores breathe through passages in the skin called trachea which are always open. As a result, all known species require a humid environment to avoid desiccation.

Translations

How to say "Velvet worm" in other languages:

	(Chinese)	有爪动物门
	(Japanese)	有爪動物
	(German)	Stummelfüßer
	(Spanish)	Onychophora
	(French)	Onychophora

Search results

Metazoa

...

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Lobopodia

recognized as an Onychophoran, a relative of the velvet worms. The known lobopods are fair sized to large... not fit easily into the phylum arthropoda. Basically, these are "worms with legs" and some things...

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Microdictyon

recognized as an Onychophoran, a relative of the velvet worms.) Microdictyon sinicum (Chen, Hou and Lu... Microdictyon is an extinct "armored worm" coated with dot-like scleritic scales, known from the...-defined Phylum – Lobopodia – that includes several other odd worm-like and segmented free...

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Animal

worms) ����� Tardigrada (water bears) ����� Onychophora (velvet worms) ����� Arthropoda (insects, etc... (flatworms) ����� Nemertina (ribbon worms) ����� Gastrotricha ����� Gnathostomulida (jawed worms... ����� Loricifera ����� Entoprocta ����� Nematoda (roundworms) ����� Nematomorpha (horsehair worms...

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