Animals of slow motion, soft substance, able to increase their bulk and restore parts which have been destroyed, extremely tenacious of life, and the inhabitants of moist places. Many of them are without a distinct head, and most of them without feet. They are principally distinguished by their tentacles (or feelers). By the Ancients they were not improperly called imperfect animals, as being destitute of ears, nose, head, eyes and legs; and are therefore totally distinct from Insects.
Organs of Sense: tentacles (generally), eyes, no brain, no ears, no nostrils
Covering: calcareous or none, except spines
Supports: no feet, no fins. Crawls in moist places & are mute
The class Vermes, as Linnaeus conceived it, was a rather diverse and mismatched grouping of animals; basically it served as a wastebasket taxon for any invertebrate species that was not an arthropod. With the advent of the scientific understanding of evolution, it became clear that many of the animals in these groups were not in fact closely related, and so the class Vermes was dropped for several (at least 30) phyla.
Furia infernalis – Despite the many accounts of this purported animal by respected authorities, including Daniel Solander and Linnaeus himself, it is now accepted that no such animal exists.[5]
Carl von Linné, translated by William Turton (1806). Volume 4: Worms. A general system of nature: through the three grand kingdoms of animals, vegetables, and minerals, systematically divided into their several classes, orders, genera, species, and varieties. London: Lackington, Allen, and Co.
Carl von Linné, translated by William Turton (1806). Volume 1. A general system of nature: through the three grand kingdoms of animals, vegetables, and minerals, systematically divided into their several classes, orders, genera, species, and varieties. London: Lackington, Allen, and Co.
Carl August Nilsson-Cantell (1978). Cirripedia Thoracica and Acrothoracica. Issue 5 of Marine Invertebrates of Scandinavia. Universitetsforlag. p.57. ISBN978-82-00-01670-0.