noun
- Plural of leptocephalus; the transparent, ribbon-like larval stage of eels and certain other fish species.
Usage: biology; ichthyology; technical
Examples
- Marine biologists collected leptocephali specimens from the ocean currents to study eel development.
- The leptocephali of the European eel migrate thousands of miles from the Sargasso Sea.
- Under the microscope, leptocephali appear almost completely transparent.
- Researchers identified several leptocephali species in the deep-sea samples.
- The transformation from leptocephali to elvers marks a critical stage in the eel life cycle.