Definition of cercaria in English:
cercaria
nounPlural cercariaesəːˈkɛːrɪəˌsərˈkerēə
Zoology A free-swimming larval stage in which a parasitic fluke passes from an intermediate host (typically a snail) to another intermediate host or to the final vertebrate host.
Example sentencesExamples
- The larvae inside the snail host produce several thousands of cercariae.
- Inside these slime balls are cercariae of the fluke, nicely encased in a ‘mini’ aquatic habitat, albeit a temporary one.
- Once the cercaria enters the second intermediate host, it sheds its tail and becomes a metacercaria, which is little more than a miniature, but sexually immature, adult, that may, or may not, encyst.
- Only the tadpoles that were exposed to cercariae developed deformities.
- Tadpoles in ponds with snails pick up trematode larvae, called cercariae.
Origin
Mid 19th century: modern Latin, formed irregularly from Greek kerkos 'tail'.