Manca

The manca (plural: mancae) is the post-larval juvenile in some crustaceans. The manca stage is the defining characteristic of a clade called Mancoida which comprises all the member of the Peracarida except the Amphipoda.^[1] Mancae closely resemble the adult form, but for the absence of the last pair of pereiopods.^[1] In some isopods, specifically the family Cymothoidae, the manca stage is a parasite of fish, and is also known as the praniza.^[2]

References

1. Peter Ax (2000). "Peracarida". The Phylogenetic System of the Metazoa. Multicellular Animals 2. Springer. pp. 174–178. ISBN 978-3-540-67406-1.
2. Albert O. Bush (2001). "Crustacea". Parasitism: the Diversity and Ecology of Animal Parasites. Cambridge University Press. pp. 226–241. ISBN 978-0-521-66447-9.