leptocephalus
/ˌlɛptəˈsɛfələs/
noun
- The transparent, leaf-shaped larva of eels and some other fish, before it transforms into a juvenile.
- Unlike adult eels, the leptocephalus is flat and almost invisible in the water.
- Marine biologists collected a leptocephalus to study its development.
- The leptocephalus drifts in the ocean currents for months before becoming a young eel.