A free-swimming larval stage of certain starfish and brittle stars that has arm-like projections used for movement and feeding in ocean water.
From Greek 'brachion' (arm) and '-laria' (larval form), literally meaning 'little-armed larva'. The term was coined in the 1800s when marine biologists discovered these microscopic creatures as part of studying starfish development.
Brachiolaria are like the invisible astronauts of the ocean—they float around as tiny creatures with little arms, and nobody sees them because they're smaller than a grain of sand, yet they're the middle stage between a starfish egg and an adult starfish.
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