zoea
[zoh-ee-uh]
- any of the free-swimming larva of certain crustaceans, as the crab, having rudimentary legs and a spiny carapace.
Show More
Origin of zoea
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for zoea
Historical Examples
With crowds of its brothers and sisters, the zoea kicks about on the surface of the sea.
On the SeashoreR. Cadwallader Smith
The maggot is the larva of the fly, and the zoea is the larva of the Crab.
On the SeashoreR. Cadwallader Smith
It was called a zoea; but you can call it a Crab caterpillar or larva.
On the SeashoreR. Cadwallader Smith
You ask about the skipping of the Zoea stage in fresh-water decapods: is this an illustration of acceleration?
More Letters of Charles DarwinCharles Darwin
As an illustration of this metamorphosis, we give figures of the Zoea Taurus in two states, viz., Fig.
The Ocean World:Louis Figuier
zoea
zoaea
- the free-swimming larva of a crab or related crustacean, which has well-developed abdominal appendages and may bear one or more spines
Show More
Word Origin
C20: New Latin, from Greek zōē life
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012