cercaria
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cer·car·i·a
(sər-kâr′ē-ə)n. pl. cer·car·i·ae (-ē-ē′) or cer·car·i·as
A larva of a trematode, which develops from a sporocyst or a redia.
[New Latin cercāria : Greek kerkos, tail + -āria, feminine of Latin -ārius, -ary.]
cer·car′i·al adj.
cercaria
(səˈkɛərɪə)n, pl -iae (-ɪˌiː)
(Zoology) one of the larval forms of trematode worms. It has a short forked tail and resembles an immature adult
[C19: New Latin, literally: tailed creature, from Greek kerkos tail]
cerˈcarial adj
cerˈcarian adj, n
cer•car•i•a
(sərˈkɛər i ə)n., pl. -car•i•ae (-ˈkɛər iˌi)
the free-swimming, tailed larva of parasitic trematodes.
[1830–40; < New Latin < Greek kérkos tail]
cer•car′i•al, adj.
cer•car′i•an, adj., n.
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| Noun | 1. |  cercaria - tadpole-shaped parasitic larva of a trematode worm; tail disappears in adult stageclass Trematoda, Trematoda - parasitic flatworms (including flukes) larva - the immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose |