mesozoan, a. and n. Zool.
(mɛsəʊˈzəʊən, miːzəʊ-)
[f. Mesozoa n. pl. + -an.]
A. adj. Of or pertaining to mesozoa or the group Mesozoa. B. n. A member of the phylum Mesozoa, comprising minute animals with no organs or body cavity which are parasitic on marine invertebrates.
| 1909 Webster, Mesozoan, a. 1924 Jrnl. Parasitol. XI. 59 The type species, Haplozoon armatum, was originally described by Dogiel..as a mesozoon, and for the genus..he established a new mesozoan class, the Catenata. 1940 L. H. Hyman Invertebrates I. iv. 245 From the rather complete description of Salinella given by Frenzel it is evident that this animal is not a mesozoan and does not fit into any other animal phylum. 1972 Sci. Amer. Dec. 95/1 The adult mesozoan, whose natural habitat is the urine of cephalopods, is a long, slender organism. 1988 R. S. K. Barnes et al. Invertebrates iii. 94/2 The simplicity of the mesozoan anatomy has been interpreted in terms of such parasitic degeneration. |