Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
parazoan

parazoan

9.9
A simple sea animal with many cells, a body of holes, and a fibrous frame that often lives in groups
  • noun
  • /ˌpærəˈzoʊən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : parazoario
  • Sponges are considered parazoans because of their simple organization.

Examples

  • The evolutionary split between parazoans and eumetazoans marks a major division in animal life.

  • Many parazoans thrive in shallow waters.

  • Researchers studied the genetic makeup of several parazoan species to understand early multicellularity.

  • The parazoan exhibits a unique structure.

  • Researchers studied the genetic makeup of several parazoan species to understand early multicellularity.

  • Sponges are considered parazoans because of their simple organization.

  • The evolutionary split between parazoans and eumetazoans marks a major division in animal life.

Synonyms

sponge
vsparazoan
14 5.2

A simple sea animal with many holes that filters water to eat

is the scientific or broader name for those primitive porous sea animals
poriferan
vsparazoan
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea animal like a sponge with a body full of holes that filters water

is the general name for primitive porous marine animals including that phylum

Surface Forms

parazoan singular
parazoans plural

Morphology

parazoan = Parazoa (opaque) = para + zoa + an

The derivation from the taxonomic base 'Parazoa' by adding '-an' is regular and means 'a member of Parazoa'.

Etymology

Parazoan comes from the Greek parts para- meaning 'beside' and zoa meaning 'animals', the same root you see in zoo. So a parazoan is a simple, early animal—think sponges that form attached colonies—that stands 'beside' the more complex animals in the tree of life.