[plan-yuh-luh] 
[-lee] . Zoology. | the ciliate, free-swimming larva of a coelenterate. |
| plan·u·la (plān'yə-lə) n. pl. plan·u·lae (-lē') The flat, free-swimming, ciliated larva of a coelenterate. [New Latin plānula, from Latin, feminine diminutive of plānus, flat (from its shape); see pelə-2 in Indo-European roots.] plan'u·lar, plan'u·late' (-lāt') adj. |
| planula (plān'yə-lə) Pronunciation Key
Plural planulae (plān'yə-lē') The flat, free-swimming, ciliated larva of a cnidarian. |
planula
free-swimmingfree-swimming or crawling larval type common in many species of the phylum Cnidaria (e.g., jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones). The planula body is more or less cylindrical or egg-shaped and bears numerous cilia (tiny hairlike projections), which are used for locomotion. Planulae are produced by both of the basic body forms found in cnidarians-polyps, the stalklike, attached adult forms, and medusae, the bell- or umbrella-shaped, free-swimming adult forms. See also polyp (zoology); medusa.
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