Carnivorous

Definition

Feeding on animal tissues, whether by predation (killing live prey) or scavenging (consuming dead animals). In arthropods, carnivory encompasses diverse strategies: active pursuit (e.g., tiger beetles, Odonata), ambush predation (e.g., mantids, crab spiders), web-building entrapment (most Araneae), and specialized parasitoid development within a living host (many Hymenoptera, Tachinidae). Carnivorous arthropods may be specialists (taking narrow prey taxa) or generalists, and may supplement animal prey with non-animal foods facultatively.

Etymology

Latin caro, carnis 'flesh' + -vorus 'devouring'

Example

The ground beetle genus Carabus is strictly carnivorous, hunting slugs, insect larvae, and other soil-dwelling invertebrates using acute chemoreception and rapid mandibular strikes.

Synonyms

• zoophagous
• predatory (when killing live prey)

Related Terms

• Predator
• scavenger
• Parasitoid
• herbivorous
• Omnivorous
• Trophic level
• Functional response
• Mandible
• Chelicera

Usage Notes

Distinguish from 'predatory,' which specifies live prey capture; carnivorous includes scavengers and carrion-feeders. Some entomologists reserve 'zoophagous' for animal-feeding generally, using 'carnivorous' for vertebrate prey specifically, but this narrower usage is inconsistent. In plant taxonomy, 'carnivorous' describes plants that trap and digest small animals—technically distinct but conceptually analogous.