zoëa
See also: zoea
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
(deprecated template usage) [etyl] New Latin, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter "sc" should be a valid script code; the value "polytonic" is not valid. See WT:LOS.. Coined by Bose in 1802.
Noun
zoëa (plural zoëae)
- (zoology) A peculiar larval stage of certain decapod crustaceans, especially of crabs and certain Anomura. Also called the copepod stage.
Usage notes
- In this stage the anterior part of the body is relatively large, and usually bears three or four long spines. The years are conspicuous, and the antennæ and jaws are long, fringed organs used in swimming. The thoracic legs are undeveloped or rudimentary, the abdomen long, slender, and often without appendages. The zoëa, after casting its shell, changes to a megalops. This was originally thought to be a distinct genus.
References
- “zoëa”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “zoëa”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volumes V (Simular–Z), New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.