Editing Onychophora (section)

===Habitat===
Velvet worms always sparsely occupy the habitats where they are found: they are rare among the fauna of which they are a part.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

All extant velvet worms are terrestrial (land-living) and prefer dark environments with high air humidity. They are found particularly in the [[rainforest]]s of the tropics and temperate zones, where they live among [[moss]] cushions and [[leaf litter]], under tree trunks and stones, in rotting wood or in [[termite]] tunnels. They also occur in unforested [[grassland]], if there exist sufficient [[fracture (geology)|crevices]] in the soil into which they can withdraw during the day,{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} and in caves.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.3897/subtbiol.15.8468 |title=Cave dwelling Onychophora from a Lava Tube in the Galapagos |journal=Subterranean Biology |volume=15 |pages=1–10 |date=21 January 2015 |last1=Espinasa |first1=L. |last2=Garvey |first2=R. |last3=Espinasa |first3=J. |last4=Fratto |first4=C.A. |last5=Taylor |first5=S. |last6=Toulkeridis |first6=T. |last7=Addison |first7=A.|doi-access=free }}</ref> Two species live in [[cave]]s, a habitat to which their ability to squeeze themselves into the smallest cracks makes them exceptionally well-adapted and in which constant living conditions are guaranteed. Since the essential requirements for cave life were probably already present prior to the settlement of these habitats, this may be described as [[exaptation]].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Some species of velvet worms are able to occupy human-modified land-uses, such as [[Theobroma cacao|cocoa]] and [[banana]] [[plantations]] in South America and the Caribbean, but for others, conversion of rainforests is likely one of the most important threats to their survival{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} (see [[#Conservation status|Conservation]]).{{clarify|there is no mention of this in the "Conservation" section|date=August 2021}}

Velvet worms are photophobic: They are repelled by bright light sources.<ref name = "The Australian Museum 2024"/> Because the danger of [[desiccation]] is greatest during the day and in dry weather, it is not surprising that velvet worms are usually most active at night and during rainy weather. Under cold or dry conditions, they actively seek out crevices in which they shift their body into a resting state.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NhHvAwAAQBAJ&q=Velvet+worms+resting+state&pg=PT2349|title=Bang to Eternity and Betwixt: Cosmos|date=2014-07-31|publisher=John Hussey|language=en}}</ref>