zoëa

• zoaea
• zoea
• zooea

From New Latin zōaea, zōēa, from Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”) (compare ζῷον (zōîon)).

• IPA^(key): /zoʊˈi.ə/

zoëa (plural zoëas or zoëae)

1. (zoology) A larval stage of certain decapod crustaceans, especially of decapods such as crabs and certain Anomura, also called the copepod stage, characterized by spines on the carapace and rudimentary thoracic and abdominal limbs.

• In this stage the anterior part of the body is relatively large, and usually bears three or four long spines. The years are conspicuous, and the antennae and jaws are long, fringed organs used in swimming. The thoracic legs are undeveloped or rudimentary, the abdomen long, slender, and often without appendages. The zoëa, after casting its shell, changes to a megalops. This was originally thought to be a distinct genus.

• “zoëa”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “zoëa”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volumes V (Simular–Z), New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “zoëa”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.