Plural form of cercaria; multiple larval stages of parasitic flatworms that possess tail-like appendages.
Latin plural of cercaria, formed by changing the -a ending to -ae, following the standard Latin first declension plural pattern.
When biologists write about parasites in scientific papers, you'll often see 'cercariae' because there are usually millions of these tiny creatures swarming around—it's basically the nightmarish plural of an already creepy word.
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