epizoic

American  

[ep-uh-zoh-ik] / ˌɛp əˈzoʊ ɪk /

adjective

Biology.

1. externally parasitic.

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epizoic British  

/ ˌɛpɪˈzəʊɪk /

adjective

1. (of an animal or plant) growing or living on the exterior of a living animal

2. (of plants) having seeds or fruit dispersed by animals

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epizoic Scientific  

/ ĕp′ĭ-zō′ĭk /

1. Living or growing on the external surface of an animal.

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Other Word Forms

• epizoism noun

Etymology

Origin of epizoic

First recorded in 1855–60; epizo(on) + -ic

Example Sentences

As the summer wanes their dead bodies are frequently found in the footpaths; for a kind of epizoic seems to seize them at that time, and they die in numbers.

From Wild Life in a Southern County by Jefferies, Richard

Like many epizoic or parasitic insects, Hemimerus is wingless, eyeless and has relatively short and strong legs.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various

The only epizoic species, according to M. Fries, is Agaricus cerussatus v. nauseosus, which has been met with in Russia on the carcase of a wolf; this, however, might have been accidental.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

The passage is in "The Poet at the Breakfast Table": Our epizoic literature is becoming so extensive that nobody is safe from its ad infinitum progeny.

From The Critical Game by Macy, John Albert