primiten.
/ˈprʌɪmʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈpraɪˌmaɪt/ Zoology.
The anterior member of a pair or series of gregarine sporozoans that are physically attached, esp. when in the form of gametocytes prior to fusion and sexual reproduction. Cf. syzygy n. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > protozoa > class Sporozoa > subclass Teleosporidia > [noun] > order Gregarinida > member of > member of suborder Polycystidea > first member of series
primite1898
1898 A. Sedgwick Student's Text-bk. Zool. I. 57 The anterior individual of an association is called the primite, the rest the satellites.
1901 G. N. Calkins Protozoa v. 156 Catenoid colonies, where the protomerite of one [individual] (satellite) becomes attached to the deutomerite of another (primite).
1938 Science 11 Nov. 451/2 The sporonts grow to a considerable size and form syzygies..of unequal length in which the primites attain a length ranging from 275 to 342 μ.
1997 Jrnl. Parasitol. 83 502 The septate gregarine parasites of flour beetles..include Gregarina minuta.., a relatively small species in which both primite and satellite possess an obvious protomerite.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1898