Describing an organism that lives on the outside of a host animal's body and feeds on it.
Adjectival form of 'ectoparasite,' from Greek 'ekto-' + 'parasitikos.' Developed in biology to distinguish external from internal parasitism.
Remora fish stick to sharks and rays as ectoparasitic hitchhikers, but here's the twist—they're not even parasites because they don't harm their hosts, so scientists call them 'commensals' instead!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.