megalops

noun

meg·​a·​lops

1

plural megalops or megalopses : a larva or larval stage following the zoea in the development of most crabs in which the legs and abdominal appendages have appeared, the abdomen is relatively long, and the eyes are large

called also megalopa

2

capitalized : a genus of fishes that contains several East Indian and South Pacific species closely related to and resembling the tarpon and is sometimes made the type of a separate family but is usually considered to form a subfamily of the Elopidae

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from megal- + -ops

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