Brachiolaria
![Older brachiolaria larva of Asterias sp. from below, anterior end at topFrom Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (1904)](/Images/godic/202501/01/Asterias_sp_older_brachiolaria_larva_from_below1343.png")
A brachiolaria is the second stage of larval development in many starfishes it follows the bipinnaria. Brachiolaria have bilateral symmetry, unlike the adult starfish, which have a pentaradial symmetry. Starfish of the order Paxillosida (Astropecten and Asterina) have no brachiolaria stage, with the bipinnaria developing directly into an adult.