veliger

noun

ve·​li·​ger ˈvē-lə-jər How to pronounce veliger (audio) ˈve- How to pronounce veliger (audio)
: a larval mollusk in the stage when it has developed the velum

Examples of veliger in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The veligers might wind up as food for local fish, a deserving irony, or be otherwise damaged. Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 1 Aug. 2024 Then in July, testers with microscopes found single veligers, or larvae, in an irrigation canal and the Colorado River near Grand Junction. Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 1 Aug. 2024 Colorado Parks and Wildlife broke the news of the mussels' arrival earlier this month after veligers, or larvae, were confirmed in plankton samples taken from several locations along the upper reaches of the river. Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 22 July 2024 Zebra mussel veligers can be seen only with a microscope and float freely in river water. Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, 18 July 2024 They were transported to new areas as adults that had attached to the hulls or outside of engines of recreational boats or as microscopic larvae - veligers - hiding in bilge, live wells or other water-holding areas of boats. Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, 3 Mar. 2018 Their microscopic larvae, called veligers, reached the United States by way of the Great Lakes in the late 1980s, probably as stowaways inside a freighter's ballast tanks. OregonLive.com, 10 Feb. 2018

Word History

Etymology

velum + -i- + Latin -ger "carrying, wearing," nominal derivative of gerere "to carry, wear, perform" — more at jest

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of veliger was in 1877

Dictionary Entries Near veliger

Cite this Entry

“Veliger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veliger. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

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