zoea

American  

[zoh-ee-uh] / zoʊˈi ə /

noun

Zoology.

plural

zoeae, zoeas

1. any of the free-swimming larva of certain crustaceans, as the crab, having rudimentary legs and a spiny carapace.

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zoea British  

/ zəʊˈiːə /

noun

1. the free-swimming larva of a crab or related crustacean, which has well-developed abdominal appendages and may bear one or more spines

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Other Word Forms

• zoeal adjective

Etymology

Origin of zoea

1820–30; < New Latin, equivalent to Greek zō ( ḗ ) life + New Latin -ea -ea

Example Sentences

Micrograph c shows green crab zoea larva, which resembles a shrimp.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

This happens about once a week, until, hey presto! the spiked zoea is now rather like a Crab.

From On the Seashore by Smith, R. Cadwallader

The various larval forms, especially the nauplius and zoea, were supposed to reproduce, more or less closely, the actual structure of ancestral types.

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

Again and again its skin splits, and a rather different zoea appears.

From On the Seashore by Smith, R. Cadwallader

It was called a zoea; but you can call it a Crab caterpillar or larva.

From On the Seashore by Smith, R. Cadwallader