Overview
Onychophora means claw bearers. About 20 species are known in New Zealand
The common name velvet worm is derived from the velvety texture of their flexible skin. They have a caterpillar-like body that is segmented internally. They have 14-43 pairs of unjointed but clawed legs, and one pair of antennae. Velvet worms are predators that catch live intertebrates by ejecting a sticky fluid, which rapidly hardens entangling the prey so it can not escape. Then, they bite off parts of the prey to suck its juices up after softening its tissues with saliva.
About 200 extant species are known worldwide separated into two families: the Peripatidae (found in Central America, South America, southeast Asia and Africa) and the Peripatopsidae (found in Chile, South Africa, Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand).