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Collection manager (Invertebrates)
Albert Makubung
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Department of Invertebrates
General Enthomology Collection
Order Onychophora (Velvet worm)
Descirbed as "half worm, half arthropod", these are the only survivors of a group of worms that were abundant in the Cambrian period. They are15 cm long and have 14-43 pairs of short, unjointed fleshy legs that terminates in a pair of claws.
These carnivorous animals catch their prey by spraying them with a mucus-like substance from a pair of slime glands opening on either side of the mouth; they use the same technique to defend themselves.
They inhabit warm and humid regions.