Caenorhabditis elegans (Caeno, recent; rhabditis, rod; elegans, nice), is a free-living, non-parasitic soil nematode that can be safely used in the laboratory and is common around the world. (Blumenthal, T., Meyer, B.J., Riddle, D.L., Priess, J.F. (Ed.). (1997). C. elegans II. New York, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. p. 1)
A developmental stage of C. elegans that occurs under starvation conditions in which the larva enters developmental stasis. With food, the dauer larva can reach L4 stage and then become an adult. Dauer is German for enduring.