Larval forms | Article about Larval forms by The Free Dictionary Larval forms | Article about Larval forms by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Wikipedia . larva, independent, immature animal that undergoes a profound change, or metamorphosis, to assume the typical adult form. Larvae occur in almost all of the animal phyla; because most are tiny or microscopic, they are rarely seen. They play diverse roles in the lives of animals. Motile larvae help to disseminate sessile, or sedentary, animals such as sponges sponge, common name for members of the aquatic animal phylum Porifera, and for the dried, processed skeletons of certain species used to hold water. Over 4,500 living species are known; they are found throughout the world, especially in shallow temperate waters. ..... Click the link for more information. , oysters oyster, bivalve mollusk found in beds in shallow, warm waters of all oceans. The shell is made up of two valves, the upper one flat and the lower convex, with variable outlines and a rough outer surface. ..... Click the link for more information.

, barnacles barnacle, common name of the sedentary crustacean animals constituting the infraclass Cirripedia. Barnacles are exclusively marine and are quite unlike any other crustacean because of the permanently attached, or sessile, mode of existence for which they are highly modified. ..... Click the link for more information. , or scale insects. Larvae of parasites may be dispersed by penetrating the skin of new hosts; other parasite larvae live in intermediate hosts that are normally eaten by the final host, in which the adult parasites develop. The larvae of other parasites live in and are dispersed by intermediate hosts such as mosquitoes mosquito , small, long-legged insect of the order Diptera, the true flies. The females of most species have piercing and sucking mouth parts and apparently they must feed at least once upon mammalian blood before their eggs can develop properly. ..... Click the link for more information.

, gnats gnat, common name for any one of a number of small, fragile-looking two-winged flies of the suborder Nematocera, order Diptera, which includes the families Tipulidae (crane flies), Bibionidae (hairflies), Ceratopogonidae (biting midges), Chironomidae (true midges), Cecidomyidae ..... Click the link for more information. , or leeches leech, predacious or parasitic annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, characterized by a cylindrical or slightly flattened body with suckers at either end for attaching to prey. ..... Click the link for more information. ; when the blood meals are taken from the final host, the parasite larvae are introduced into the blood or skin. Parasitic infections can often be reduced by eliminating the larval hosts. Vertebrate Larvae Among vertebrates vertebrate, any animal having a backbone or spinal column. Verbrates can be traced back to the Silurian period. In the adults of nearly all forms the backbone consists of a series of vertebrae. All vertebrates belong to the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata. .....

Click the link for more information. a number of fishes fish, limbless aquatic vertebrate animal with fins and internal gills. Traditionally the living fish have been divided into three class: the primitive jawless fishes, or Agnatha; the cartilaginous (sharklike) fishes, or Chondrichthyes; and the bony fishes, or Osteichthyes. ..... Click the link for more information. pass through larval stages; the larva of the eel eel, common name for any fish in the order Anguilliformes, and characterized by a long snakelike body covered with minute scales embedded in the skin. Eels lack the hind pair of fins, adapting them for wriggling in the mud and through the crevices of reefs and rocky shores. ..... Click the link for more information. is interesting because it is flat and transparent. The tadpole, the familiar larva of the amphibian amphibian, in zoology, cold-blooded vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia.

There are three living orders of amphibians: the frogs and toads (order Anura, or Salientia), the salamanders and newts (order Urodela, or Caudata), and the caecilians, or limbless amphibians (order ..... Click the link for more information. , develops to a considerable size in the relatively hospitable aquatic environment before metamorphosis prepares it for an amphibious or terrestrial life as a frog frog, common name for an amphibian of the order Anura. Frogs are found all over the world, except in Antarctica. They require moisture and usually live in quiet freshwater or in the woods. Some frogs are highly aquatic, while others are better adapted to terrestrial habitats. ..... Click the link for more information. or toad toad, name applied to certain members of the amphibian order Anura, which also includes the frog. Although there is no clear-cut distinction between toads and frogs, the name toad ..... Click the link for more information. . Insect Larvae In some animals, especially insects insect, invertebrate animal of the class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda.

Like other arthropods, an insect has a hard outer covering, or exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. Adult insects typically have wings and are the only flying invertebrates. ..... Click the link for more information. , larvae represent a special feeding stage in the life cycle. Some insects pass through more or less wormlike larval stages, enter the outwardly inactive, or pupal, form, and emerge from the pupal case as adults (see pupa pupa , name for the third stage in the life of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis, i.e., develops from the egg through the larva and the pupa stages to the adult. ..... Click the link for more information. ). The importance of larvae in the life cycle of insects varies greatly, as does the proportion of the life span spent in larval, pupal, and adult stages. In many insects, the adult life is relatively short, consisting mostly of mating and egg laying, while the larvae live for many months or, in some species, for several years. Insect larvae feed voraciously, necessarily becoming larger than the adult, as considerable energy and material are needed for the profound changes made during pupation.

For this reason, insect larvae often cause far more damage to stored crops and textiles than adult insects. Insect larvae generally have a thinner exoskeleton than the adult; many are white and soft. The characteristic fly fly, name commonly used for any of a variety of winged insects, but properly restricted to members of the order Diptera, the true flies, which includes the housefly, gnat, midge, mosquito, and tsetse fly. ..... Click the link for more information. larvae are maggots, often developing in decaying plant or animal material. Mosquito larvae are the familiar aquatic wrigglers; they breathe air and are killed by a thin film of oil on the water that prevents contact with air. Maggots and wrigglers are legless, as are all larvae of the insect order Diptera. Beetle beetle, common name for insects of the order Coleoptera, which, with more than 300,000 described species, is the largest of the insect orders. Beetles have chewing mouthparts and well-developed antennae. ..... Click the link for more information.

larvae, including the whitish forms called grubs and the long brownish wireworms wireworm, elongate, cylindrical larva of the click beetle. Most wireworms are hard and brown, but members of some species are soft and whitish. Wireworms live in rotten wood or in the ground and feed on roots and seeds, injuring potatoes, grasses, and a wide variety of ..... Click the link for more information. , are quite diverse, but all are equipped with the six legs characteristic of adults. Moths moth, any of the large and varied group of insects which, along with the butterflies, make up the order Lepidoptera. The moths comprise the great majority of the 100,000 species of the order, and about 70 of its 80 families. ..... Click the link for more information. and butterflies butterfly, any of a large group of insects found throughout most of the world; with the moths, they comprise the order Lepidoptera. There are about 12 families of butterflies. Most adult moths and butterflies feed on nectar sucked from flowers. ..... Click the link for more information.

have wormlike caterpillars as larvae, each equipped with the six legs characteristic of adults and false legs known as prolegs to support the long abdominal section. Some, like the milkweed worm (the larva of the monarch butterfly), are relatively naked, while other caterpillars are covered by hairy bristles, sometimes equipped with irritating chemicals that can cause intense itching. The young of the social insects ( bees bee, name for flying insects of the superfamily Apoidea, in the same order as the ants and the wasps. Bees are characterized by their enlarged hind feet, typically equipped with pollen baskets of stiff hairs for gathering pollen. ..... Click the link for more information. , ants ant, any of the 2,500 insect species constituting the family Formicidae of the order Hymenoptera, to which the bee and the wasp also belong. Like most members of the order, ants have a "wasp waist," that is, the front part of the abdomen forms a narrow stalk, called the waist, ..... Click the link for more information. , wasps wasp, name applied to many winged insects of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants and bees.

Most wasps are carnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, or spiders. They have biting mouthparts, and the females have stings with which they paralyze their prey. ..... Click the link for more information. , and termites termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the infraorder Isoptera. Originally classified in as a separate order, termites are genetically related to cockroaches and are now usually classified with them in the order Blattodea. ..... Click the link for more information. ) are legless but otherwise grublike. Although all social-insect larvae are ultimately dependent on the parent colony for food, they are considered true larvae because they pass through a pupal stage. Larva a stage in the individual development of many invertebrates and some vertebrates (fishes and amphibians) in which the nutrient reserves of the egg are insufficient to complete embryonic development. An organism in the larval stage is self-sufficient. Usually it has special organs not characteristic of the adult form but lacks other organs characteristic of the adult.

In many animals, the existence of the larval stage is determined by the differences in the modes of life of the early stages of development and that of the adult stage; thus, the trochophore, characteristic of polychaetes and many mollusks, is free-swimming, but the adult form is benthic. The presence of a larva is sometimes associated with a change in habitat in the course of development. For example, many amphibian larvae are adapted to aquatic life, whereas the adult animals are adapted to dry land. In sessile or sluggish marine animals, a free-swimming larva ensures offspring distribution. This is true of the larvae of sponges and coelenterates (paren-chymula, amphiblastula, planula) and of echinoderms and enteropneusts (dipleurula). The metamorphosis of the larva to the adult animal consists in the restructuring of the larva’s organization; the more profound that restructuring, the greater will be the difference between the larva and the adult organism. The changes that occur in the metamorphosis of certain invertebrates (nemertines, echinoderms, and insects) are especially pronounced.

For example, in higher insects in the pupal stage (which follows the larval stage), almost all of the larval organs are destroyed. The organs of the adult animal are formed de novo from special rudiments called imaginal disks. The larvae of some animals retain the structural characteristics of ancestral forms. For example, phylogenetic significance of this sort is ascribed to the larvae of sponges and coelenterates (parenchymula, planula) and to the caudate larvae of ascidians, which resemble a free-swimming ancestor in structure. A. V. I Tadpole - definition of tadpole by The Free Dictionary Tadpole - definition of tadpole by The Free Dictionary egg and three stages of a tadpole metamorphosing into a frog tad·pole (tăd′pōl′) n. The aquatic larva of a frog or toad, having gills, a long, laterally compressed tail, and in early stages, no limbs. During metamorphosis of a tadpole into an adult, legs and lungs develop, and the tail gradually disappears. Also called polliwog.

[Middle English taddepol : tadde, tode, toad; see toad + pol, head; see poll.] Word History: The word tadpole, which first appears in English in the 1400s, is an old compound word whose meaning is no longer transparent. Tad is a variant of the word toad, while pole is simply an alternative spelling of poll, meaning "head." Tadpole thus means "a toad that is all head," so to speak. Nowadays, the original meaning of the word poll, "head," is most prominent in poll tax, "a tax consisting of a fixed amount and levied on all individuals," a kind of tax that also often used to be called a head tax. (In modern times, poll taxes are most often levied on adults eligible to vote.) The most common senses of poll today are probably "a survey of public opinion" and "the place where votes are cast." The word probably developed these senses at least partly through the notion of the head as the most prominent part of each individual in a crowd—the part that could be counted.

A similar notion is found in the phrase "a head of cattle." tadpole (ˈtædˌpəʊl) n (Animals) the aquatic larva of frogs, toads, etc, which develops from a limbless tailed form with external gills into a form with internal gills, limbs, and a reduced tail [C15 taddepol, from tadde toad + pol head, poll] tad•pole the aquatic larva of frogs and toads, having internal gills and a tail. [1400–50; late Middle English tad(de)pol=tad(de) toad + pol poll ] tadpole development of a frog from a fertilized egg through several tadpole stages tad·pole (tăd′pōl′) The larval stage of a frog or toad. A tadpole lives in the water, has a tail and gills, and has no limbs. The tail and gills disappear as the legs and lungs develop on the way to the adult stage.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: polliwog , pollywog amphibia , class Amphibia - the class of vertebrates that live on land but breed in water; frogs; toads; newts; salamanders; caecilians 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 Translations شُرْغوف: فَرْخ الضَّفْدَع فَرْخُ الضِّفْدِع pulec tadpole (ˈtӕdpəul) noun a young frog or toad in its first stage of development.

paddavis شُرْغوف: فَرْخ الضَّفْدَع попова лъжичка girino pulec die Kaulquappe haletudse γυρίνος renacuajo kulles نوزاد قورباغه sammakonpoikanen têtard ראשן मेंढक का बच्चा punoglavac békaporonty berudu halakarta girino おたまじゃくし 올챙이 buožgalvis (varžu) kurkulis berudu dikkopje rumpetroll kijanka دچونګښي چوچي ( چه لكۍ لرى girino mormoloc головастик žubrienka paglavec punoglavac grodlarv, -yngel ลูกอ๊อด kurbağa yavrusu 蝌蚪 пуголовок مينڈک کے بچے کي ابتدائي شکل con nòng nọc 蝌蚪 tadpole Want to thank TFD for its existence?

Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: View in context Young Green and little Hall, commonly called Tadpole, from his great black head and thin legs, slept side by side far away by the door, and were for ever playing one another tricks, which usually ended, as on this morning, in open and violent collision; and now, unmindful of all order and authority, there they were, each hauling away at the other's bedclothes with one hand, and with the other, armed with a slipper, belabouring whatever portion of the body of his adversary came within reach.

View in context He had besides the things before mentioned, twelve marbles, part of a jews-harp, a piece of blue bottle-glass to look through, a spool cannon, a key that wouldn't unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six fire-crackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass door- knob, a dog-collar -- but no dog -- the handle of a knife, four pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window sash. View in context Snails clung to the sides of the tank; tadpoles and tiny fish swam swiftly in the green water, slippery efts and slimy frogs twined their noiseless way in and out of the weedy rock-work; and on top of the pyramid there sat solitary, cold as the stone, brown as the stone, motionless as the stone, a little bright-eyed toad.

View in context more especially when we are so active in his service as we are), since he fails not the midges of the air, nor the grubs of the earth, nor the tadpoles of the water, and is so merciful that he maketh his sun to rise on the good and on the evil, and sendeth rain on the unjust and on the just. Larva | Define Larva at Dictionary.com larva [lahr-vee] /ˈlɑr vi/ (Show IPA) 1. Entomology. the immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis. 2. any animal in an analogous immature form. 3. the young of any invertebrate animal. 4. larvae, Roman Antiquity. malignant ghosts, as lemures. Origin of larva 1645-55; < New Latin; special use of Latin larva a ghost, specter, mask, skeleton; akin to Lares Can be confused Examples from the Web for larva Expand Contemporary Examples When summer comes, adult beetles attack and larva feed in the cambium layer, girdling the trees and sealing their doom.

The Red Conspiracy Joseph J. Mereto The larva of an English species hatches in ten days after the eggs are laid. Our Common Insects Alpheus Spring Packard But at last I am rewarded, and the larva is just beginning its excavation. Our Common Insects Alpheus Spring Packard The larva only exhibits slow movements, and is not capable of swimming about. British Dictionary definitions for larva Expand noun (pl) -vae (-viː) 1. an immature free-living form of many animals that develops into a different adult form by metamorphosis Derived Forms C18: (C17 in the original Latin sense: ghost): New Latin Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for larva Expand n.

1650s, "a ghost, specter," from Latin larva (plural larvae), earlier larua "ghost," also "mask;" applied in biological sense 1768 by Linnaeus because immature forms of insects "mask" the adult forms. On the double sense of the Latin word, Carlo Ginzburg, among other students of mythology and folklore, has commented on "the well-nigh universal association between masks and the spirits of the dead." Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper n. pl. lar·vas or lar·vae (-vē) The newly hatched, wingless, often wormlike form of many insects before metamorphosis. The newly hatched, earliest stage of any of various animals that undergo metamorphosis, differing markedly in form and appearance from the adult. lar'val adj. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

(lär'və) Plural larvae (lär'vē) or larvas An animal in an early stage of development that differs greatly in appearance from its adult stage. Larvae are adapted to a different environment and way of life from those of adults and go through a process of metamorphosis in changing to adults. Tadpoles are the larvae of frogs and toads. The immature, wingless, and usually wormlike feeding form of those insects that undergo three stages of metamorphosis, such as butterflies, moths, and beetles. Insect larvae hatch from eggs, later turn into pupae, and finally turn into adults. Compare imago , nymph, pupa. The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. larva --� Kids Encyclopedia | Children's Homework Help | Kids Online Dictionary | Britannica A worm in an apple is actually the larva of an apple maggot fly. Steve TaylorStone/Getty Images The word larva is applied to the young of certain animals that must undergo great physical changes before they become adults.

A young frog hatches from the egg as a water-living tadpole and gradually becomes transformed into the air-breathing adult. A tadpole is therefore a larva. More than one larva are called larvae. Many insects go through a larval stage. This is one way of meeting the difficulty all insects have in growing. The outer covering, or exoskeleton, of an adult insect is made of a tough substance called chitin that cannot stretch or grow bigger. The larvae of many insects, such as grasshoppers, have this skin and must shed, or molt, it several times while they are growing. Other insect larvae remain soft-skinned during the growing period, usually with altogether different shapes and habits from those they will have later on. Before they are ready for adult life, insect larvae pass through another stage, called the pupal stage, in which they get their more adult, hard outer skin. Insects that go through the four stages of egg, larva, pupa, and adult are said to have complete metamorphosis (see insect ). Many insect larvae have special names. The larvae of beetles are grubs; of flies, maggots; of butterflies and moths, caterpillars.

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Copy and paste this code into your page Tadpoles: The Larvae Of Frogs And Toads Tadpoles: The Larvae Of Frogs And Toads Updated on August 15, 2012 African clawed frog embryos and young tadpole | Source Tadpoles are the baby version of frogs Tadpoles are the larval stages of frogs and toads . Amphibians differ from most other vertebrates (higher organisms with a backbone), in that their eggs develop into a larval stage, known as a tadpole. The word comes from the old English words for a toad anf a head (poll). Pollywog, another name for a tadpole, alos comes from the root poll for head and the old word for wriggle, reflecting the fact that the body of the young tadpole appears to be completely made up of a head and a tail. Whereas frogs and toads are terrestial, tadpoles are completely aquatic, they have gills instead of eyes. The food of tadpoles, and therefore their mouths and digestive systems is often very different from that of their parents. Tadpoles also have tails, which the adult lacks.

Frogs are in the order anura, meaning no tail, as opposed to tailed amphibians, like salamanders . stages of tadpole development | Source Metamorphosis After an initial period of growth, the tadpole must develop into a frog, this process is known as metamorphosis, and involved a huge and rapid remodeling of the tadpole’s body. One of the first steps in metamorphosis is the emergence of limbs. These start off as tiny limb buds which can only be seen under the microscope, in a process very similar to limb development in mammalian embryos, but much later during development, and grow into proper fore- and hind-limbs. Another major change you can observe during metamorphosis is the disappearance of the tail through apoptosis, programmed cell death. A combination of apoptosis and growth also leads to remodeling of other parts of the tadpole’s body like the head and the gut, resulting in a froglet with very different morphology from the tadpole. tree frog tadpoles developing in eggs | Source Life cycle of a frog Most frogs reproduce during the rainy season, when ponds are flooded with water.

Tadpoles, which often have a very different diet from adults, are a good way of taking advantage of plentiful algae and vegetation in the water, so that the larvae don’t need to hunt for insects when they are very tiny and vulnerable to predators. Eggs laid by the female and fertilized by the male outside her body, many species of frog leave their eggs behind either in water or on vegetation close to the water and take no care of the offspring. Eggs are laid en mass in protective jelly, initially the embryos absorb their reserves of yolk. Once the embryo has developed into a tadpole, the jelly dissolves and the tadpole wriggles out of its protective membrane Tadpoles of many species are herbivorous, feeding on plant vegetation. Some tadpoles are practically filter feeders, constantly swallowing water and feeding off the algae. Some frogs have a more specialized diet. Certain poison dart frogs take care off their offspring, once the tadpole is hatched the parent carries it on its back to a flooded bromeliad. The female frog lays unfertilized eggs in the water, which the tadpole eats.

juvenile froglet that is completing its metamorphosis | Source Raising tadpoles If raising tadpoles native to your region as a science project, make sure you check the laws of your country or state to ensure that collecting them from the wild is legal. Never release non-native species into the wild! When breeding frogs in captivity it is often necessary to simulate the rainy season by putting the adult frogs in a rain chamber. This stimulates them to breed and once the eggs are laid they need to be taken care off and the tadpoles raised. This can be done in a suitably sized aquarium, the size of which depends on the size and number of tadpoles. Clean water is of the utmost importance when raising tadpoles, it should either be gently filtered or a a 50% water change carried out daily. If tap water is used it must be dechlorinated with an aquarium water treatment sold for aquarium fish. The temperature of the water will depend on the species. Optimum water hardness also varies depending on the frog. Frogs from Amazon rain forest such as poison dart frogs or certain tree frogs, will usually do better in soft water.

As the tadpoles begin to metamorphose it is good to provide them with floating islands, either natural or plastic plants, so they can rest out of the water as they lose their gills and start breathing atmospheric air. Feeding tadpoles also depends on the species and should be researched for the particular tadpole you are rearing. Boiled lettuce is often recommended for herbivorous species, crushed fish flake, or algae tablets also make good tadpole food. Surinam toad with eggs embedded in the skin | Source Direct development: some frogs don't have a tadpole stage Although the vast majority of frogs and toads go through the tadpole stage, there are exceptions to every rule and there are several families of frogs in with direct development from egg to froglet. In some frogs the eggs are carried by the mother until froglets emerge. One such frog is the very bizarre looking, surinam toad, Pipa pipa, in which fertilized eggs are rolled onto the frog’s back where they become enclosed in tissue, and develop under the frog’s skin, until little froglets emerge at the end of the cycle.

froglets developed embedded in the skin of the surinam toad | Source More by this Author The giant waxy monkey frog, Phyllomedusa bicolor, is a fascinating large tree frog with a very striking appearance. I've kept them as pets for over 8 years and share my tips on caring for them. 14 Native toads can be collected from the wild and easily kept as pets. Below is a description of how to set up an enclosure to house wild toads and some general considerations about keeping them. 27 Larva | Article about larva by The Free Dictionary Larva | Article about larva by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Acronyms , Wikipedia . larva, independent, immature animal that undergoes a profound change, or metamorphosis, to assume the typical adult form. Larvae occur in almost all of the animal phyla; because most are tiny or microscopic, they are rarely seen. They play diverse roles in the lives of animals.

Motile larvae help to disseminate sessile, or sedentary, animals such as sponges sponge, common name for members of the aquatic animal phylum Porifera, and for the dried, processed skeletons of certain species used to hold water. Over 4,500 living species are known; they are found throughout the world, especially in shallow temperate waters. ..... Click the link for more information. , oysters oyster, bivalve mollusk found in beds in shallow, warm waters of all oceans. The shell is made up of two valves, the upper one flat and the lower convex, with variable outlines and a rough outer surface. ..... Click the link for more information. , barnacles barnacle, common name of the sedentary crustacean animals constituting the infraclass Cirripedia. Barnacles are exclusively marine and are quite unlike any other crustacean because of the permanently attached, or sessile, mode of existence for which they are highly modified. ..... Click the link for more information. , or scale insects.

Larvae of parasites may be dispersed by penetrating the skin of new hosts; other parasite larvae live in intermediate hosts that are normally eaten by the final host, in which the adult parasites develop. The larvae of other parasites live in and are dispersed by intermediate hosts such as mosquitoes mosquito , small, long-legged insect of the order Diptera, the true flies. The females of most species have piercing and sucking mouth parts and apparently they must feed at least once upon mammalian blood before their eggs can develop properly. ..... Click the link for more information. , gnats gnat, common name for any one of a number of small, fragile-looking two-winged flies of the suborder Nematocera, order Diptera, which includes the families Tipulidae (crane flies), Bibionidae (hairflies), Ceratopogonidae (biting midges), Chironomidae (true midges), Cecidomyidae ..... Click the link for more information. , or leeches leech, predacious or parasitic annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, characterized by a cylindrical or slightly flattened body with suckers at either end for attaching to prey. ..... Click the link for more information.

; when the blood meals are taken from the final host, the parasite larvae are introduced into the blood or skin. Parasitic infections can often be reduced by eliminating the larval hosts. Vertebrate Larvae Among vertebrates vertebrate, any animal having a backbone or spinal column. Verbrates can be traced back to the Silurian period. In the adults of nearly all forms the backbone consists of a series of vertebrae. All vertebrates belong to the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata. ..... Click the link for more information. a number of fishes fish, limbless aquatic vertebrate animal with fins and internal gills. Traditionally the living fish have been divided into three class: the primitive jawless fishes, or Agnatha; the cartilaginous (sharklike) fishes, or Chondrichthyes; and the bony fishes, or Osteichthyes. ..... Click the link for more information. pass through larval stages; the larva of the eel eel, common name for any fish in the order Anguilliformes, and characterized by a long snakelike body covered with minute scales embedded in the skin.

Eels lack the hind pair of fins, adapting them for wriggling in the mud and through the crevices of reefs and rocky shores. ..... Click the link for more information. is interesting because it is flat and transparent. The tadpole, the familiar larva of the amphibian amphibian, in zoology, cold-blooded vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia. There are three living orders of amphibians: the frogs and toads (order Anura, or Salientia), the salamanders and newts (order Urodela, or Caudata), and the caecilians, or limbless amphibians (order ..... Click the link for more information. , develops to a considerable size in the relatively hospitable aquatic environment before metamorphosis prepares it for an amphibious or terrestrial life as a frog frog, common name for an amphibian of the order Anura. Frogs are found all over the world, except in Antarctica. They require moisture and usually live in quiet freshwater or in the woods. Some frogs are highly aquatic, while others are better adapted to terrestrial habitats. ..... Click the link for more information.

or toad toad, name applied to certain members of the amphibian order Anura, which also includes the frog. Although there is no clear-cut distinction between toads and frogs, the name toad ..... Click the link for more information. . Insect Larvae In some animals, especially insects insect, invertebrate animal of the class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda. Like other arthropods, an insect has a hard outer covering, or exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. Adult insects typically have wings and are the only flying invertebrates. ..... Click the link for more information. , larvae represent a special feeding stage in the life cycle. Some insects pass through more or less wormlike larval stages, enter the outwardly inactive, or pupal, form, and emerge from the pupal case as adults (see pupa pupa , name for the third stage in the life of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis, i.e., develops from the egg through the larva and the pupa stages to the adult. ..... Click the link for more information. ).

The importance of larvae in the life cycle of insects varies greatly, as does the proportion of the life span spent in larval, pupal, and adult stages. In many insects, the adult life is relatively short, consisting mostly of mating and egg laying, while the larvae live for many months or, in some species, for several years. Insect larvae feed voraciously, necessarily becoming larger than the adult, as considerable energy and material are needed for the profound changes made during pupation. For this reason, insect larvae often cause far more damage to stored crops and textiles than adult insects. Insect larvae generally have a thinner exoskeleton than the adult; many are white and soft. The characteristic fly fly, name commonly used for any of a variety of winged insects, but properly restricted to members of the order Diptera, the true flies, which includes the housefly, gnat, midge, mosquito, and tsetse fly. ..... Click the link for more information. larvae are maggots, often developing in decaying plant or animal material. Mosquito larvae are the familiar aquatic wrigglers; they breathe air and are killed by a thin film of oil on the water that prevents contact with air.

Maggots and wrigglers are legless, as are all larvae of the insect order Diptera. Beetle beetle, common name for insects of the order Coleoptera, which, with more than 300,000 described species, is the largest of the insect orders. Beetles have chewing mouthparts and well-developed antennae. ..... Click the link for more information. larvae, including the whitish forms called grubs and the long brownish wireworms wireworm, elongate, cylindrical larva of the click beetle. Most wireworms are hard and brown, but members of some species are soft and whitish. Wireworms live in rotten wood or in the ground and feed on roots and seeds, injuring potatoes, grasses, and a wide variety of ..... Click the link for more information. , are quite diverse, but all are equipped with the six legs characteristic of adults. Moths moth, any of the large and varied group of insects which, along with the butterflies, make up the order Lepidoptera.

The moths comprise the great majority of the 100,000 species of the order, and about 70 of its 80 families. ..... Click the link for more information. and butterflies butterfly, any of a large group of insects found throughout most of the world; with the moths, they comprise the order Lepidoptera. There are about 12 families of butterflies. Most adult moths and butterflies feed on nectar sucked from flowers. ..... Click the link for more information. have wormlike caterpillars as larvae, each equipped with the six legs characteristic of adults and false legs known as prolegs to support the long abdominal section. Some, like the milkweed worm (the larva of the monarch butterfly), are relatively naked, while other caterpillars are covered by hairy bristles, sometimes equipped with irritating chemicals that can cause intense itching. The young of the social insects ( bees bee, name for flying insects of the superfamily Apoidea, in the same order as the ants and the wasps. Bees are characterized by their enlarged hind feet, typically equipped with pollen baskets of stiff hairs for gathering pollen. ..... Click the link for more information.

, ants ant, any of the 2,500 insect species constituting the family Formicidae of the order Hymenoptera, to which the bee and the wasp also belong. Like most members of the order, ants have a "wasp waist," that is, the front part of the abdomen forms a narrow stalk, called the waist, ..... Click the link for more information. , wasps wasp, name applied to many winged insects of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants and bees. Most wasps are carnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, or spiders. They have biting mouthparts, and the females have stings with which they paralyze their prey. ..... Click the link for more information. , and termites termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the infraorder Isoptera. Originally classified in as a separate order, termites are genetically related to cockroaches and are now usually classified with them in the order Blattodea. ..... Click the link for more information. ) are legless but otherwise grublike.

Although all social-insect larvae are ultimately dependent on the parent colony for food, they are considered true larvae because they pass through a pupal stage. Larva a stage in the individual development of many invertebrates and some vertebrates (fishes and amphibians) in which the nutrient reserves of the egg are insufficient to complete embryonic development. An organism in the larval stage is self-sufficient. Usually it has special organs not characteristic of the adult form but lacks other organs characteristic of the adult. In many animals, the existence of the larval stage is determined by the differences in the modes of life of the early stages of development and that of the adult stage; thus, the trochophore, characteristic of polychaetes and many mollusks, is free-swimming, but the adult form is benthic. The presence of a larva is sometimes associated with a change in habitat in the course of development. For example, many amphibian larvae are adapted to aquatic life, whereas the adult animals are adapted to dry land. In sessile or sluggish marine animals, a free-swimming larva ensures offspring distribution.

This is true of the larvae of sponges and coelenterates (paren-chymula, amphiblastula, planula) and of echinoderms and enteropneusts (dipleurula). The metamorphosis of the larva to the adult animal consists in the restructuring of the larva’s organization; the more profound that restructuring, the greater will be the difference between the larva and the adult organism. The changes that occur in the metamorphosis of certain invertebrates (nemertines, echinoderms, and insects) are especially pronounced. For example, in higher insects in the pupal stage (which follows the larval stage), almost all of the larval organs are destroyed. The organs of the adult animal are formed de novo from special rudiments called imaginal disks. The larvae of some animals retain the structural characteristics of ancestral forms. For example, phylogenetic significance of this sort is ascribed to the larvae of sponges and coelenterates (parenchymula, planula) and to the caudate larvae of ascidians, which resemble a free-swimming ancestor in structure. A. V. I What is a young frog called?

| Reference.com What is a young frog called? A: Quick Answer A frog is first a tadpole and then a froglet before becoming an adult frog. It takes between 3 to 4 months for a frog to go through the complete growth cycle and become an adult frog. Full Answer Frogs lay eggs, and when the eggs hatch a frog is called a tadpole. The tadpole has poorly developed gills, a tail and a mouth. It generally stays near the shoreline of lakes or streams, depending on where the female frog lays her eggs. After a couple of months, the tadpole will be larger, have legs and resemble an adult frog with a tail. A young frog, or froglet, is officially no longer a tadpole at around 12 weeks. Frogs and Toads God Made it All Perfect Dandy Designs Books WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TOAD AND A FROG? Actually, all toads are frogs.

They are both known to scientists as anurans, which comes from two Greek words meaning “without a tail.” However, we usually use the name “toad” for the ones that are dry and warty with shorter back legs and “frog” for the ones that are moist and smooth with webbed feet, but there are exceptions to that rule. Toads in North America are from a family of frogs called Bufonidae. They are dry and warty and somewhat laid-back, often walking rather than leaping or jumping. Of the more than 5,400 species of frogs in the world only a little more than 100 species live in the United States. There are that many different species living in just a small area of some rain forests! WHERE FROGS LIVE Frogs don't migrate. Instead they hibernate to escape from the cold or they estivate to escape from the heat or dryness. Frogs are most abundant around bodies of water with many of them living at the water's edge. However, some varieties of frogs live totally in the water, and some live in fast moving water and even waterfalls. Many species live in the tropical rain forests where it is moist all of the time.

A smaller number live in grasslands, on mountains, and even in deserts. Frogs that live in areas that are dry for part of the year burrow into the ground and go into a dormant state called estivation or “summer sleep.” They stay there hidden from the heat of the sun and from predators until the rain comes when they emerge in large numbers until the dry conditions return. Some desert frogs can attach themselves to plants and turn white and hard as a rock during the dry season. When rain comes, they absorb water, wake from their sleep, and hop away. Since frogs are cold-blooded their bodies need the warmth of the sun in order to function. Frogs that live in cold climates hibernate in the winter by burying themselves in leaf litter or mud and wait for the warmth to return. The dancing frog lives in waterfalls. Because waterfalls are so noisy they can't attract a mate by singing, these frogs dance by alternately stretching their legs and wiggling their toes. Frogs that live in the mountains often have dark colors so they can absorb more heat from the sun. The dark color also protects them from the sun's ultraviolet radiation.

Frogs are wonderfully designed to live in a wide variety of habitats. The European and Asian Common Toad (bufo bufo) has been found at elevations over 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) in the Himalaya Mountains and at 1,115 feet (340 m) below ground in a coal mine. Frogs may live for several years, and generally the larger frogs have longer lifespans. A FROG'S BODY Where a frog or toad lives is reflected in the design of its body. The ones with long back legs can jump great distances while the ones with shorter legs either hop short distances or walk. Some of them have powerful legs for digging or burrowing into the ground. Some even have special shovels attached to their legs like the spadefoot toads. Most burrow with their rear legs, but some who borrow head first have pointed noses. Frogs who live in the water have webbed feet to help with swimming and those who live mostly on land do not. Frogs who live in trees or fast-moving water have sticky pads on their toes so they can cling to the trees or rocks.

Some of the frogs with four webbed feet use their feet like parachutes to glide down from the trees. Frogs that swim in water are often long and streamlined with pointed snouts, while those that spend their life on land and in dry areas are short and rotund. The round shape gives less surface area for reduced water loss. It makes them poor swimmers, but they don't have to swim much anyway. Frogs and toads all have lungs for breathing, but they also breathe through their skin. Frogs with damp skin depend more on skin breathing (cutaneous respiration) because the skin has to be moist for oxygen and carbon dioxide to pass through. Of course, those skin breathing frogs are also the ones who spend the most time in the water. Desert frogs have dry skin so that they won't loose moisture, and they have larger lungs because they cannot breathe through their skin. Clever design to fit the environment is the key to the amazing frogs. A FROG'S EYES Some people have said that frogs have the most beautiful eyes of any animal. They come in a variety of colors from red, orange, and yellow to metallic copper, silver, bronze, and gold.

In most frogs and toads the pupil is horizontal, but many are vertical. However, some varieties of frogs have pupils that are round, triangular, heart-shaped, hourglass-shaped, and diamond-shaped. The eyes are mounted high on the sides of the head to give visibility to the front, sides, and even partially to the rear and all while the frog is mostly under water. The frog's eyes can even be lowered into the roof of the mouth to help in swallowing large food items. Frogs that are singing will abruptly stop when they see an intruder entering their area. This makes it hard to find that noisy frog. At night frogs are attracted to lights, perhaps because insects are attracted to lights and frogs love to eat insects. SOME PEOPLE LIKE FROGS - AND SOME DON'T Many frogs have large, bulging eyes and the appearance of a grin. This may make them easier to like than some creatures, such as lizards or snakes for example. Also lizards and snakes may be more hostile to people than frogs, who usually just react to people by trying to hop away. However, poison dart frogs can be deadly to anyone who touches them, and not everyone likes even the most undeadly of the frogs.

People often complain about the “noise” of their chorus at certain times of year, and Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish scientist who gave us the system of scientific naming of animals and the term “amphibian,” called frogs “foul and loathsome.” MORE INTERSTING STUFF ABOUT FROGS Frogs can range in size from almost 15 inches (37 cm) long weighing 8 pounds (3.66 kg) to as small as less than half an inch (1 cm). Kermit the Frog said, "It's not easy being green," but not all frogs are green. Frogs can be very colorful or they may be dull brown, gray, or green, designed to blend with their environment. The brightest colored frogs are the poisonous ones, which may be bright red, orange, yellow, or blue. They don't need to hide for their protection and the bright colors warn predators to stay away. The skin of a single Golden Poison Dart Frog (phyllobates terribilis) contains enough poison to kill 10 people. Fortunately most deadly poisonous frogs live in jungles where there are few people, but most frogs have at least some poison.

Even common toads have parotoid glands just behind their eyes that secrete toxins that help to deter enemies. EVEN MORE INTERESTING (AND GROSS) STUFF ABOUT FROGS Periodically frogs shed their skin as snakes and lizards do. However, frogs don't leave their old skin lying around like the snakes and lizards. They eat it! The process usually starts with a stretching movement and humping of the back. The skin splits and the frog uses its legs to pull the skin into its mouth where it gulps the skin down and the process is complete in a few minutes. The animal has a fresh, shiny new skin without plastic surgery. FROG VOICES Frogs make a chorus of a thousand different sounds, both pleasing and irritating. However, the “ribbit” sound which is often associated with frogs comes only from one American species, the Pacific Tree Frog. Hollywood filmmakers have recorded that sound and used it for frog background sounds in movies set all over the world in places where that frog never lived. Other frogs produce bonks, yelps, grunts, and chirps that are far to numerous to mention here.

These sounds are mostly from the males and they are created by vocal sacs that are made to resonate by pumping air over the vocal cords. HOW FROGS GET AROUND Some species of frogs prefer to walk or run, but most hop or even leap, up to as much as more than 30 times their own body length! Many frogs with sticky toe pads are excellent climbers. Tree frogs can even climb up a smooth surface like glass. They have even been seen hanging from a tree branch by one toe. Some frogs like the Indian Water Frog (Rana cyanophylctis) can even run across the surface of the water. FROG REPRODUCTION Frogs lay large numbers of eggs, usually in the water. The eggs hatch into a larva called tadpoles or pollywogs. which have a tail but no legs, have gills like a fish, and can swim freely. After a few days the tadpoles grow legs, loose their tails, emerge from the water, and look like smaller versions of their parents. WHAT FROGS EAT Every animal gets hungry. So what do frogs eat? While they are tadpoles they usually are vegetarians, eating algae and bacteria.

All adult frogs and toads are carnivorous, meaning that they eat other animals. Frogs can't chew their food, so they have to swallow it whole. Most frogs have tiny teeth in the upper and lower jaw (lower jaw only in toads) but the teeth are used only to keep the prey from getting away. Frogs can eat insects, spiders, worms, slugs, and snails. They catch their prey with a long, sticky tongue. The tongue is attached at the front of the frog's mouth and the frog can quickly throw it forward to catch insects in flight. Their tongue may be up to a third of the length of the frog's body. They usually don't go after their prey. They sit quietly and wait for their meal to arrive. Larger frogs may eat mice or rats, lizards, snakes, small birds, and even other frogs and toads. Frogs who live in the water may also eat larvae and small fish. WE NEED FROGS Frogs are our friends. They eat tons of harmful insects every year. The are vital to the food chain and an important part of the web of life.

Frogs depend on water for reproducing, eating, and even to some extent for breathing. Frogs don't drink, but they absorb water through their skin. Pollution in the water threatens the life of frogs and many frogs around the world are being threatened with extinction. Chemical runoff from roadways and pesticides in the soil, draining of swamps and wetlands, and the cutting of rain forests all threaten our friends the frogs. God gave us a beautiful, well designed world, with a delicate balance of life. We need to do everything we can to be good stewards of this wonderful gift. Frogs need our protection. Copyright © (2010)-(2016) John N. Clayton, DOES GOD EXIST? Written and Designed by Roland Earnst

Question: What is the larva of a toad called?
Answer: Tadpole