onychophoran(n = noun.animal) peripatus, velvet worm - any of numerous velvety-skinned wormlike carnivorous animals common in tropical forests having characteristics of both arthropods and annelid worms;
Any of numerous velvety-skinned wormlike carnivorous animals common in tropical forests having characteristics of both arthropods and annelid worms; a member of the Onychophora, also called Malacopoda. See Malacopoda. [WordNet 1.5]