epicyten.
/ˈɛpᵻsʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈɛpəˌsaɪt/ Biology.
In a gregarine protozoan: the outermost layer of the ectoplasm, often exhibiting longitudinal folds.
ΚΠ
1877 Zool. Rec. 1875 15 580 Schneider..distinguishes between the following layers, &c., in the Gregarinidæ: (1) the ‘epicyte’, (2) the ‘sarcocyte’, (3) the ‘myocyte?’, (4) the ‘endocyte’, (5) the nucleus and nucleolus, [etc.].
1903 E. A. Minchin in E. R. Lankester Treat. Zool. i. ii. 179 The cuticle or epicyte [in Gregarines] is a membrane secreted by the ectoplasm, usually of some thickness.
1977 R. D. Manwell in J. P. Kreier Parasitic Protozoa III. i. 8 Vavra and Small were able to demonstrate in the epicyte a series of minute longitudinal folds,..and suggest that these may undulate thus causing motion.
2000 Jrnl. Orthoptera Res. No. 9. 59/1 The surface of the gregarines is invested with epicyte folds of different thickness, longitudinally arranged with cross connections.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1877- deliberatively
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