Who's coming to my...............

[Krische_Jasche]

Never mind that. Did you know that the velvet worms (Onychophora — literally "claw bearers") are a minor Ecdysozoan phylum. The segmented worm-like organisms have tiny eyes, antennae, multiple pairs of legs and slime glands. Most common in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, they prey on smaller animals such as insects, which they catch by squirting an adhesive slime. In modern zoology they are particularly renowned for their curious mating behaviour and for bearing live young. They are becoming increasingly popular as pets due to their bizarre appearance and eating habits.

The two extant families of velvet worms are Peripatidae and Peripatopsidae. They show a peculiar distribution, with the peripatids being predominantly equatorial and tropical, while the peripatopsids are all found in what used to be Gondwanaland.

Velvet worms are close relatives of the Arthropoda and Tardigrada, with which they form the taxon Panarthropoda. This makes them of palaeontological interest, as they can help to reconstruct the ancestral arthropod.

[catherine]

Available in several colours and styles:

blue with big horns


Aubergine with shorter horns


And white, which goes with everything

[rogerg]

those are pretty cool!

[catherine]

Their mating behavour is indeed curious.

"In a number of Australian species, the males place their spermatophores on their heads like tiny trophies in readiness to present them to a female."

 :shock:

That's the Aussies for you...

Here, Sheila! Look what I got for ya!

[RacingHippo]

*splort*

Ah well. This keyboard's about due for replacement anyway.
Bravo, Catherine. Funniest thing I've read here for a long time. And that's going some.

[RacingHippo]

This is the Windows 7 Party that I'll be attending!

I wonder if I can find a torrent for the recipe for those "Space Cakes" they have....

[Nellie]

Their mating behavour is indeed curious.

"In a number of Australian species, the males place their spermatophores on their heads like tiny trophies in readiness to present them to a female."

 :shock:

That's the Aussies for you...

Here, Sheila! Look what I got for ya!

:lol:
I think they'd make nice earrings.

[catherine]

With or without the spermatophores, Nellie?

[Nellie]

With or without the spermatophores, Nellie?

Obviously, it would depend on ones choice of footware  :roll:

[RWA]

This is the Windows 7 Party that I'll be attending!

I wonder if I can find a torrent for the recipe for those "Space Cakes" they have....

Awesome!  :lol:

[RacingHippo]

Crikey. I didn't realise the Japs could dislocate their jaws.