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Glite Dictionary
onychophoran

onychophoran

9.9
A small worm-like animal with soft skin and many short legs that eats insects
  • noun
  • /ˌɒnɪˈkɒfərən/
  • Specialized
: onicóforo
  • In the tropical rainforest, the onychophoran slithered silently among the leaves, hunting for insects.

Examples

  • The scientists studied the unique features of the onychophoran, noting its similarities to both worms and arthropods.

  • During their expedition, they discovered a rare species of onychophoran hiding beneath a fallen log.

  • Clockwise from top, an onychophoran, a polychaete, an ascidian, and an echinoderm.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

velvet worm
vsonychophoran
  • Specialized
9.8

A small soft animal with velvety skin that catches prey with sticky slime

is the formal scientific name covering various such species
peripatus
vsonychophoran
  • Specialized
9.9

A soft, wormlike animal with many short legs found in wet tropical forests

is the broader term that groups many similar velvet skinned animals

How Big

elephant
389 1.0
dog
∞ 1.0
lizard
103 1.0
onychophoran
  • Specialized
9.9
insect
341 1.0
mite
11 5.1

Surface Forms

onychophoran singular
onychophorans plural

Morphology

onychophoran = Onychophora (opaque) = onychophor + an

Forming a member-name by adding '-an' to the taxonomic name is regular, but the base 'Onychophora' and the stem are specialized Greek-derived terms unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Onychophoran comes from Greek parts onycho- meaning 'claw' or 'nail' and -phoran meaning 'carrying'. So the name is like 'claw-carrier', which fits these velvet worms because they move with many short, clawed legs.