mesozoanadj.n.
/ˌmɛsə(ʊ)ˈzəʊən/, U.S. /ˌmɛzoʊˈzoʊən/; see also meso- comb. form. Zoology.
A. adj.
Of, relating to, or consisting of worms of the group Mesozoa.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > Mesozoa > [adjective]
mesozoan1909
1909 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Mesozoan, a.
1924 Jrnl. Parasitol. 11 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.
1968 B. H. McConnaughey in M. Florkin & B. T. Scheer Chem. Zool. II. iii. viii. 563 Its composition is a resultant of the physiological processes of both the octopus and of the mesozoan population of the renal chamber.
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.
B. n.
A worm of the group Mesozoa.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > Mesozoa > [noun] > member of
Mesozoon1892
mesozoan1940
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.
1997 Jrnl. Morphol. 231 297 The fine structure of the dicyemid mesozoan, Dicyema acuticephalum, from Octopus vulgaris, was studied.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1909