planula
/ˈplanjʊlə
/noun (plural planulae /ˈplanjʊliː/) Zoology
A free-swimming coelenterate larva with a flattened, ciliated, solid body: [as modifier]: a planula larva...
- Fertilized eggs may be brooded for a time or may develop directly into a free-swimming, ciliated planula larva.
- The planula larva settles on a hermit crab shell and metamorphoses into a primary polyp.
- The planula larva has very few apoptotic cells.
Origin
Late 19th century: modern Latin, diminutive of Latin planus 'plane, flat'.