as themselves, these are given the designation adelphoparasites. Other marine parasites, deemed endozoic, are parasites of marine invertebrates (mollusks, flatworms, sponges) and can be either holoparasitic or hemiparasitic, some retaining the ability to photosynthesize after infection. These are the only marine parasitic plants that parasitize animal hosts.

However, in freshwater the algae Cladogonium ogishimae is the only known true holoparasite