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In zoology, an 'inquiline' is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms such as insects may live in the homes of gophers and feed on debris, fungi, roots, etc. The most ubiquitous types of inquiline are those found in association with the nests of social insects, especially ants and termites — a single colony may support dozens of different inquiline species. The distinctions between parasites, social parasites, and inquilines are subtle, and many species may fulfill the criteria for more than one of these, for inquilines do exhibit many of the same characteristics of parasites.