veliger

American  

[vee-li-jer] / ˈvi lɪ dʒər /

noun

1. a larval stage of certain mollusks, intermediate between the trochophore and the adult form.

---

veliger British  

/ ˈvɛlɪdʒə /

noun

1. the free-swimming larva of many molluscs, having a rudimentary shell and a ciliated velum used for feeding and locomotion

---

Etymology

Origin of veliger

From New Latin, dating back to 1875–80; see origin at velum, -i-, -gerous

Example Sentences

Early development in some species occurs via two larval stages: trochophore and veliger.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Reproduction in cephalopods is different from other mollusks in that the egg hatches to produce a juvenile adult without undergoing the trochophore and veliger larval stages.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Crassostrea gigas is also an interesting model for developmental biology owing to its mosaic development with typical molluscan stages, including trochophore and veliger larvae and metamorphosis.

From Nature • Oct. 3, 2012

A well-marked trochosphere is formed by the development of an equatorial ciliated band; and subsequently, by the disproportionate growth of the lower hemisphere, the trochosphere becomes a veliger.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various

But in these epibolic forms, just as in the embolic Paludina, the embryo proceeds to develop its ciliated band and shell-gland, passing through the earlier condition of a trochosphere to that of the veliger.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various