Last name origins & meanings: 1  Dutch, North German (Niemann), and Danish: nickname for a newcomer to a place, from nie ânewâ (variant of German neu or Dutch nieuw) + man âmanâ. 2  Dutch, North German (Niemann), and Danish: Perhaps also from niemand ânobodyâ, hence a nickname for an orphan or a person of no account.ast name origins & meanings: 1  Dutch, North German (Niemann), and Danish: nickname for a newcomer to a place, from nie ânewâ (variant of German neu or Dutch nieuw) + man âmanâ. 2  Dutch, North German (Niemann), and Danish: Perhaps also from niemand ânobodyâ, hence a nickname for an orphan or a person of no account.
GCIDE(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: onychophoran(n.) Any of numerous velvety-skinned wormlike carnivorous animals common in tropical forests having characteristics of both arthropods and annelid worms; a member of the Onychophora, also called Malacopoda. See Malacopoda.
Comprehensive Description. The Pogonophora, or beard worms, live in thin tubes buried in sediments at ocean depths from 100 to 10,000 meters. The tubes are composed of chitin and scleroproteins secreted by the epidermis. Most pogonophorans are less than 1 mm in diameter, but 10 to 75 cm in length.The tubes may be 3 to 4 times the length of the worm.he tubes are composed of chitin and scleroproteins secreted by the epidermis. Most pogonophorans are less than 1 mm in diameter, but 10 to 75 cm in length. The tubes may be 3 to 4 times the length of the worm.