herbivorous
/hə:'bivərəs/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Feeding only on plants: Describes an animal whose diet consists exclusively or primarily of plant matter, such as leaves, grass, fruits, or seeds.
Usage
- The adjective herbivorous is used to classify animals based on their diet. It is the opposite of carnivorous (meat-eating) and omnivorous (eating both plants and animals).
- It is typically used before a noun (e.g., a herbivorous animal) or after a linking verb like "is" or "are" (e.g., The species is herbivorous).
Examples
- Adjective:
- Cows and deer are herbivorous mammals.
- A herbivorous diet requires specialized teeth for grinding plant material.
- Is that dinosaur skeleton from a herbivorous or carnivorous species?
Advanced Usage
- "obligate herbivore": An animal that must eat plants to survive and cannot digest meat.
- Koalas are obligate herbivores, feeding solely on eucalyptus leaves.
- Used in ecological and biological contexts to describe an organism's trophic level or role in a food web.
- Herbivorous insects can significantly impact agricultural crops.
Variants and Related Words
- Herbivore (noun): An animal that feeds on plants.
- Rabbits and elephants are herbivores.
- Herbivory (noun): The act or practice of feeding on plants.
- The study focused on insect herbivory in the rainforest.
Synonyms
- Plant-eating: Consuming plants as food.
- Phytophagous (technical): Feeding on plants.
Antonyms
- Carnivorous: Feeding on animal flesh.
- Omnivorous: Feeding on both plant and animal matter.
Adjective
-
feeding only on plants
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