epizoan
- noun
- /ˌɛpɪˈzoʊən/
- Specialized
- The tick is a common epizoan that feeds on the blood of mammals.
Examples
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Some epizoans, such as lice and fleas, can transmit diseases to their hosts.
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Marine biologists studied the barnacles as epizoans living on the whale's skin.
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The epizoan attached itself to the fish's skin.
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Many epizoans can affect the health of their host.
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Marine biologists studied the barnacles as epizoans living on the whale's skin.
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Some epizoans, such as lice and fleas, can transmit diseases to their hosts.
-
The tick is a common epizoan that feeds on the blood of mammals.
Synonyms
136
4.2
A living thing that lives on or inside another living thing and takes food from it
1
8.6
A small animal like fleas and ticks that lives on another animal and feeds on its blood or skin
A small creature that lives on the outside of another animal like a flea
An animal that lives outside another animal and feeds on it, like a flea
An animal that lives on another animal's body and feeds on it, like a flea or tick
Surface Forms
Morphology
epizoan = epi + zoan
Formed from epi- (on) + -zoan (animal); the composition is etymologically regular but relies on classical combining forms that are not obvious to many learners, so only partially transparent.
Etymology
Epizoan comes from the Greek parts epi- 'on' and zoon 'animal', the same zoo root you see in zoo and zoology. So, an epizoan is literally an 'animal on an animal', a creature that lives on the outside of another animal, like lice or ticks.