Category:Malacopoda

Mal`a*cop"o*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. -poda.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A class of air-breathing Arthropoda; -- called also Protracheata, and Onychophora.

Note: They somewhat resemble myriapods, and have from seventeen to thirty-three pairs of short, imperfectly jointed legs, two pairs of simple jaws, and a pair of antennæ. The trancheæ are connected with numerous spiracles scattered over the surface of the body. Peripatus is the only known genus. See Peripatus.