nauplius

American  

[naw-plee-uhs] / ˈnɔ pli əs /

noun

plural

nauplii

1. (in many crustaceans) a larval form with three pairs of appendages and a single median eye, occurring usually as the first stage of development after leaving the egg.

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nauplius British  

/ ˈnɔːplɪəs /

noun

1. the larva of many crustaceans, having a rounded unsegmented body with three pairs of limbs

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Other Word Forms

• nauplial adjective
• naupliform adjective
• nauplioid adjective

Etymology

Origin of nauplius

1830–40; < Latin: a kind of shellfish

Example Sentences

Micrograph a shows a shrimp nauplius larva, which has a teardrop-shaped body with tentacles and long, frilly arms at the wide end.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The mandibles, like the antennae, have, in the nauplius, the form of biramous swimming limbs, with a masticatory process originating from the proximal part of the protopodite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various

A nauplius larva differing only in details from the typical form just described is found in the majority of the Phyllopoda, Copepoda and Cirripedia, and in a more modified form, in some Ostracoda.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various

The young barnacle just from the egg is a six-legged, free-swimming nauplius, very like a young prawn or crab, with a single eye.

From Composition-Rhetoric by Brooks, Stratton D.

The development begins with a free nauplius stage.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various