cercaria

[ ser-kair-ee-uh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Zoology.

, plural cer·car·i·ae [ser-, kair, -ee-ee].

the disk-shaped larva of flukes of the class Trematoda, having a taillike appendage.

cercaria

/ səˈkɛərɪə /

one of the larval forms of trematode worms. It has a short forked tail and resembles an immature adult

1830–40; < New Latin, equivalent to cerc- (< Greek kérkos tail) + -āria -aria

C19: New Latin, literally: tailed creature, from Greek kerkos tail

By drinking the water which contains the cercaria of this species, they grow infested by this singular lodger.

Claparde has also observed another free cercaria which bears the name of Pachycerca.

The Cercaria setifera of J. Mller has been found free and attached to the lower surface of some medus.

It is always of a deep colour, and is doubtless introduced in the state of cercaria, when the animal is drinking.

There are some grounds for comparing the scolex to the Cercaria of Trematodes, cf. Archigetes.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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