Heteroxeny, or heteroxenous development, characterizes a parasite whose development involves several host species.[1] Heteroxeny has been used as the basis for splitting genera.[2]
When there are two or three hosts, the development cycle is named diheteroxenous or triheteroxenous, respectively. More ambiguously, these terms are sometimes synonymized as dixenous or trixenous.[1]
The etymology of the terms heteroxeny / heteroxenous derives from the two ancient Greek words ἕτερος (héteros), meaning "other, another, different", and ξένος (xénos), meaning "foreign".[3][4]
In mycology, the term heteroecious has also been used for parasitic fungi with multiple hosts, and the terms can be used synonymously.[5]