Larva - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A larva (plural larvae /lrvi/) is a distinct juvenile form many

animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with
indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians
typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult
form (e.g. caterpillars and butterflies). A larva often has unique
structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form, while their
diet might be considerably different.

Larva of Papilio xuthus, butterfly

Larvae are frequently adapted to environments separate from adults. For example, some larvae such as tadpoles
live almost exclusively in aquatic environments, but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living in a distinct
environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources with the adult
population.
Animals in the larval stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some species like
barnacles, adults are immobile but their larvae are mobile, and use their mobile larval form to distribute
themselves.
Some larvae are dependent on adults to feed them. In many eusocial Hymenoptera species, the larvae are fed by
female workers. In Ropalidia marginata (a paper wasp) the males are also capable of feeding larvae but they are
much less efficient, spending more time and getting less food to the larvae.[1]
The larvae of some species (for example, some newts) can become pubescent and do not develop further into
the adult form. This is a type of neoteny.
It is a misunderstanding that the larval form always reflects the group's
evolutionary history. This could be the case, but often the larval stage
has evolved secondarily, as in insects. In these cases the larval form may
differ more than the adult form from the group's common origin.

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Selected types of larvae

See also
References
External links
Bibliography

Eurosta solidaginis Goldenrod Gall

Fly larva

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Animal

Name of larva

Porifera (sponges)

coeloblastula larvae (= blastula larvae), parenchymula (=

parenchymella), amphiblastula

Heterocyemida

Wagener's larva

Dicyemida

infusoriform larva

Cnidarians

planula, actinula

Ctenophora

cydippid larvae

Platyhelminthes

Gttes larva, Mller's larva, miracidium, oncomiracidium,

coracidium, redia, cercaria

Annelida

nectochaeta, polytroch

Nematoda

Dauer larva

Sipuncula

pelagosphera larva

Ectoprocta

cyphonautes, vesiculariform larvae

Nematomorpha

nematomorphan larva

Phoronids

actinotroch

Cycliophora

pandora, chordoid larva

Nemertea

pilidium, Iwata larva, Desor larva

Acanthocephala

acanthor

Locifera

Higgins larva

Brachiopoda

lobate larva

Priapula

loricate larva

Certain molluscs, annelids, nemerteans

trochophore
and sipunculids
Certain molluscs

veliger

Mollusca: freshwater Bivalvia

(mussels)

glochidium

Arthropoda: Trilobita

protaspis (unjointed), meraspis (increasing number of joints, but 1

less than the holaspis), holaspis (=adult)[2]

Arthropoda: Xiphosura

euprops larva ("trilobite larva")

Arthropoda: Pycnogonida

protonymphon

Crustaceans

nauplius, metanauplius, protozoea, antizoea, pseudozoea, zoea,

postlarva, cypris, primary larva, mysis

Crustacea: Decapoda

zoea

Insecta: Lepidoptera (butterflies and

moths)

caterpillar

Insecta: Beetles

grub

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Animal

Name of larva

Insecta: Flies, Bees, Wasps

maggot

Insecta: Mosquitoes

wriggler

Deuterostomes

dipleurula (hypothetical larva)

Echinodermata

bipinnaria, vitellaria, brachiollaria, pluteus, ophiopluteus,

echinopluteus, auricularia

Hemichordata

tornaria

Urochordata

tadpole (does not feed, technically a "swimming embryo")

Fish (generally)

larva

Fish: Petromyzontiformes (lamprey)

ammocoete

Fish: Anguilliformes (eels)

leptocephalus

Amphibians

tadpole, polliwog

Crustacean larvae
Ichthyoplankton
Spawn (biology)
Ecdysis
Instar, intermediate between each ecdysis
Other non-larval juveniles (immature forms):
Paralarva, young cephalopods
Nymphs and naiads, immature forms in hemimetabolous insects
Subimago, a juvenile that resembles the adult in Ephemeroptera
Pupa and chrysalis, intermediate between larva and imago
Imago, final stage
Marine larval ecology

1. Sen, R; Gadagkar, R (2006). "Males of the social wasp Ropalidia marginata can feed larvae, given an opportunity".
Animal Behavior 71: 345350. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.04.022.
2. Moore, R.C. (1959). Arthropoda I - Arthropoda General Features, Proarthropoda, Euarthropoda General Features,
Trilobitomorpha. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part O. Boulder, Colorado/Lawrence, Kansas: Geological
Society of America/University of Kansas Press. pp. O121, O122, O125. ISBN 0-8137-3015-5.

Media related to Larva at Wikimedia Commons

The dictionary definition of larva at Wiktionary
Arenas-Mena, C. (2010) Indirect development, transdifferentiation and the macroregulatory evolution of
metazoans. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Feb 27, 2010 Vol.365
no.1540 653-669 (http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/365/1540/653.full)

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Larva Season 1 Full HD (http://doremon.us/phim-hoat-hinh-larva-phan-1-tron-bo)

Brusca, R. C. & Brusca, G. J. (2003). Invertebrates (2nd ed.). Sunderland, Mass. : Sinauer Associates.
Hall, B. K. & Wake, M. H. (1999, eds.). The Origin and Evolution of Larval Forms. San Diego:
Academic Press.
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Categories: Developmental biology
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