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Information about 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)
        o Plants
             + Rafflesia
        o Animals
             + Acanthocephala
             + Enterobius vermicularis
             + Strepsiptera
             + Strongyloides stercoralis
        o Fungi
             + Gymnosporangium and other rusts

   * Ectoparasites (ecto = outside; parasites that live on but not within
     their hosts, for example, attached to their skin)
        o Plants
             + Cuscuta
             + Mistletoe
             + Toothwort
        o Animals
             + Phthiraptera

Many lifeforms are parasitic only during a part of their lifecycle. Many
cuckoos, for example, are brood parasites: their young are parasitic on the
host species, but adult cuckoos fend for themselves.

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