Planula
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 In embryonic development, a vesicle filled with fluid, formed from the morula by the divergence of its cells in such a manner as to give rise to a central space, around which the cells arrange themselves as an envelope; an embryonic form intermediate between the morula and gastrula.
- 2 the flat ciliated free-swimming larva of hydrozoan coelenterates wordnet
- 3 The larva of a hydrozoan, which is free-swimming and covered in cilia.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"When a coral egg and sperm join together as an embryo, they develop into a coral larva, called a planula. Planulae float in the ocean, some for days and some for weeks, before dropping to the ocean floor. Then, depending on seafloor conditions, the planulae may attach to the substrate and grow into a new coral colony at the slow rate of about .4 inches a year."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plānula, diminutive of plāna (“plane”).