Müller's larva

Müller's larva or Mulleria is a larva of some Polycladida.^[1] It has 8-fold symmetry and is somewhat like a ctenophore.^[2] Müller’s larva is ciliated and has several paired and unpaired lobes. The cilia on the lobes are longer than cilia on the rest of the body. At the anterior and posterior ends of the larva are tufts of longer cilia (apical and caudal). The apical tuft originates from the apical organ, a sensory structure associated with the central nervous system.^[2]

Drawing of a Müller's larva

It is named after Johannes Peter Müller (1801-1858), a German physiologist who invented the plankton net, and first described larval forms of many phyla.^[3]

References

1. Lanfranchi, Alberto; Bedini, Celina; Ferrero, Enrico (1981), "The ultrastructure of the eyes in larval and adult polyclads (Turbellaria)", The Biology of the Turbellaria, Springer Netherlands, pp. 267–275, doi:10.1007/978-94-009-8668-8_35, ISBN 9789400986701
2. Rawlinson, Kate A (2010). "Embryonic and post-embryonic development of the polyclad flatworm Maritigrella crozieri; implications for the evolution of spiralian life history traits". Frontiers in Zoology. 7 (1): 12. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-7-12. PMC 2876153. PMID 20426837.
3. Smith, N. F.; Johnson, K. B.; Young, C. M. (2002). "Phylum Platyhelminthes". In Young, C. M. (ed.). Atlas of Marine Invertebrate Larvae. London: Academic Press. pp. 123–152.