veliger

A larval mollusk that is free-swimming and has a velum.

One who or that which bears a velum; in Mollusca, specifically, the veligerous stage of the embryo, or the embryo in that stage, when it has a ciliated swimmingmembrane or velum (see velum, 3, and typembryo).

Any larval gastropod or bivalve mollusk in the stage when it is furnished with one or two ciliated membranes for swimming.

The planktonic larva of many kinds of marine and freshwater gastropod molluscs, as well as most bivalve molluscs.