protonymphonn.
/ˌprəʊtə(ʊ)ˈnɪmfɒn/, U.S. /ˌproʊdoʊˈnɪmˌfɑn/ Zoology.
The larval stage of a pycnogonid arthropod (a sea spider). Frequently attributive.
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1893 T. H. Morgan in Studies Biol. Lab. Johns Hopkins Univ. 5 5 In Plate IV, Fig. 9, is a surface view of a larva of Tanystylum as seen from the ventral surface. Dohrn speaks of this as the Pantopod-larva, and Hoek calls it a Protonymphon... There are three pairs of appendages.
1916 W. A. Hilton in Jrnl. Entomol. & Zool. 8 25 Palene and some other forms such as some species of Nymphon have in the larva all of the appendages of the adult, but most free larvæ are provided with three pairs of appendages. Such are called protonymphon stages.
1960 B. Rensch Evol. above Species Level vi. 258 The three pairs of legs in a nauplius..represent the first and second antennae and the mandibles, and in a protonymphon (the larval stage of Pantopoda) they become the chelicerae, palpi, and the third pair of extremities.
1997 Marine Biol. 129 601 Adult pycnogonids..and freshly hatched protonymphon larvae within these egg batches were found throughout the year.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1893