Part 8/14:
Most velvet worms are dioecious, with separate sexes and larger females often bearing more legs. Fertilization is internal, occasionally involving specialized reproductive structures like a true penis or transfer of amoebocytes that transport sperm within the female’s hemocoel. Reproductive modes include egg-laying, live birth, and ovoviviparity, with females capable of producing between 1 and 23 offspring per year. Development from fertilized egg to adult can take 6 to 17 months, with no larval stage—the young are miniature versions of their parents at birth.