omnivore

1 a person who eats all kinds of foods

2 an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances

English

Etymology

From omne "all, everything" + vorare "to devour".

Noun

1. An animal which is able to consume both plants (like a herbivore) and meat (like a carnivore).

   Bears are omnivores, they can eat plants but they enjoy eating fish.

Translations

Italian

Adjective

omnivore

1. Feminine plural form of omnivoro

Omnivores (from Latin: omne all, everything; vorare to devour) are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively. Pigs are one well-known example of an omnivore. Crows are another example of an omnivore that many people see every day. Humans ourselves are omnivores.

Although there are reported cases of herbivores eating meat matter as well as examples of carnivores eating plants, the classification refers to the adaptations and main food source of the species in general so these exceptions do not make either individual animals nor the species as a whole omnivores.

Most bear species are considered omnivores, but individuals' diets can range from almost exclusively herbivorous to almost exclusively carnivorous depending on what food sources are available locally and seasonally. Polar bears can be classified as carnivores while pandas almost exclusively eat bamboo and are therefore herbivores.

Species considered omnivorous

• Various mammals
  • Bears
  • Coatis
  • Canines like gray wolves or dingos eat meat and some vegetable manner
  • Hedgehogs
  • Opossums
  • Pigs
  • Some primates including chimpanzees and humans
  • Raccoons
  • Rodents, including Chipmunks, Mice, Rats and Squirrels
  • Skunks
  • Sloths
• Various birds (whose prey can consist of berries and nectar to insects, worms, fish, small rodents and snakes)
  • Cassowarys
  • Chickens
  • Corvids, including Crows, Magpies, Ravens and Rooks
  • Keas
  • Rails
  • Rheas
• Some fish such as Piranhas
• Some lizards and turtles

See also

• Carnivore
• Detritivore
• Herbivore
• Insectivore
• Feeding

References