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Containing group: Bilateria

Other Names for Onychophora

• onychophorans
• Velvet Worms

References

Ballard, J. W. O., O. Ballard, G. J. Olsen, D. P. Faith, W. A. Odgers, D. M. Rowell and P. Atkinson. 1992. Evidence from 12S ribosomal RNA sequences that onychophorans are modified arthropods. Science 258:1345-1348.

Barnes, R. D. 1993. Introduction to the Onychophora, Chilopoda and lesser Prostomata. Pages 1-9 in: Microscopic Anatomy of Invertebrates, Volume 12: Onychophora, Chilopoda and Lesser Protostomata. F.W. Harrison and M.E. Rice, eds. Wiley-Liss, New York.

Bartolomaeus, T. and H. Ruhberg. 1999. Ultrastucture of the body cavity lining in embryos of Epiperipatus biolleyi (Onychophora, Peripatidae) - a comparison with annelid larvae. Invertebrate Biology 118:165-174.

Briscoe, D. A. and N. N. Tait. 1995. Allozyme evidence for extensive and ancient radiations in Australian Onychophora. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:91-102.

Dzik, J. and G. Krumbiegel. 1989. The oldest onychophoran Xenusion - a link connecting phyla. Lethaia 22:169-181.

Ghiselin, M. T. 1984. Peripatus as a living fossil. Pages 55-72 in Living Fossils ( N. Eldredge and S. M. Stanley, eds.) Springer-Verlag, New York.

Gleeson, D. M. 1996. Onychophora of New Zealand; past, present and future. New Zealand Entomologist 19:51–55.

Gleeson, D. M., D. M. Rowell, N. N. Tait, D. A. Briscoe, and A. V. Higgins. 1998. Phylogenetic relationships among Onychophora from Australasia inferred from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 10:237-248.

Hou, X. G. and J. Bergstrom. 1995. Cambrian lobopodians - ancestors of extant onychophorans? Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:3-19.

Monge-Nájera, J. 1994. Reproductive trends, habitat type and body characteristics in velvet worms (Onychophora). Revista de Biologia Tropical 42:611-622.

Monge-Nájera, J. 1995. Phylogeny, biogeography and reproductive trends in the Onychophora. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:21-60.

Monge-Nájera, J. 1996. Jurassic-Pliocene biogeography: Testing a model with velvet worm (Onychophora) vicariance. Revista de Biologia Tropical 44:159-175.

Monge-Nájera, J. and X. G. Hou. 2000. Disparity, decimation and the Cambrian "explosion": comparison of early Cambrian and present faunal communities with emphasis on velvet worms (Onychophora). Revista de Biología Tropical 48:333-351.

Mora, M., A. Herrera, and P. Leon. 1996. The genome of Epiperipatus biolleyi (Peripatidae), a Costa Rican onychophoran. Revista de Biologia Tropical 44:153-157.

New, T. R. 1995. Onychophora in invertebrate conservation - priorities, practice and prospects. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:77-89.

Nylund, A., H. Ruhberg, A. Tjonneland, and B. Meidell. 1987. Heart ultrastructure in four species of Onychophora (Peripatopsidae and Peripatidae) and phylogenetic implications. Zoologische Beiträge 32:17–30.

Poinar, G. 1996. Fossil velvet worms in Baltic and Dominican amber: Onychophoran evolution and biogeography. Science 273:1370-1371.

Poinar, G. 2000. Fossil onychophorans from Dominican and Baltic amber: Tertiapatus dominicanus n. g., n. sp. (Tertiapatidae n. fam.) and Succinipatopsis balticus n. g., n. sp. (Succinipatopsidae n. fam.) with a proposed classification of the subphylum Onychophora. Invertebrate Biology 119:104-109.

Ramsköld, L. 1992. Homologies in Cambrian Onychophora. Lethaia 25:443-460.

Reid, A. L. 1996. Review of the Peripatopsidae (Onychophora) in Australia, with comments on peripatopsid relationships. Invertebrate Taxonomy 10:663-936.

Rowell, D. M., A. V. Higgins, D. A. Briscoe, and N. N. Tait. 1995. The use of chromosomal data in the systematics of viviparous onychophorans from Australia (Onychophora, Peripatopsidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:139-153.

Ruhberg, H. 1985. Die Peripatopsidae (Onychophora). Systematik, Ökologie, Chorologie und phylogenetische Aspekte. Zoologica 137:1-183.

Tait, N. N. and D. A. Briscoe. 1995. Sexual head structures in the Onychophora - unique modifications for sperm transfer. Journal of Natural History 24:1517-1527.

Tait, N. N. and D. A. Briscoe. 1995. Genetic differentiation within New-Zealand Onychophora and their relationships to the Australian fauna. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:103-113.

Tait, N. N., D. A. Briscoe, and D. M. Rowell. 1995. Onychophora-Ancient and modern radiations. Mem. Ass. Australas. Paleontol. 18:21-30.

Vanderlande, V. M. 1991. Native and introduced Onychophora in Singapore. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 102:101-114.

Walker, M. H. 1995. Onychophora - past and present - foreword. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:1.

Information on the Internet

• Introduction to the Onychophora. UCMP Berkeley.
• Genus: Aysheaia pedunculata (A velvet worm). National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Department of Paleobiology.
• Onychophora Homepage. Scientific Reference Resources website.
  • The Onychophora Bibliography. Compiled by Michael T. Ghiselin (California Academy of Sciences) and Michael L. Grieneisen (Scientific Reference Resources).
• Onychophora Online
• Centre International de Myriapodologie. International Society of Myriapodology and Onychophorology.