on·y·choph·o·ran (?n??-k?f??r-?n)n. Any of various small wormlike carnivorous animals of the phylum Onychophora, chiefly of moist forests, having a soft cuticle of chitin and pairs of short claw-bearing legs. Also called peripatus, velvet worm.[From New Latin Onychophora, phylum name : Greek onux, onukh-, nail, claw; see onyx + Greek -phora, neuter pl. of -phoros, -phore.]on?y·choph?o·ran adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.onychophoran (??n??k?f?r?n) n (Animals) any wormlike terrestrial invertebrate of the phylum Onychophora, having a segmented body, short unjointed limbs, and breathing by means of tracheae: intermediate in structure and evolutionary development between annelids and arthropods[from New Latin Onychophora, from Greek onukh- nail, claw + -phore]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014