Parasite
A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of it. The biological interaction between the host and the parasite is called parasitism.
Parasites are generally smaller than their hosts, absorbing nutrients from the host's body fluids, but this is far from a universal strategy.
Examples
- Endoparasites (endo = within; parasites
that live inside their hosts)
- Plants
- Animals
- Fungi
- Gymnosporangium
and other rusts
- Gymnosporangium
and other rusts
- Ectoparasites (ecto = outside; parasites
that live on but not within their hosts, for example, attached
to their skin)
- Plants
- Animals