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Vorous Words: “gallivorous” to “nucivorous”
Part 2 of 3

Words that include: vor-, vora-, -vore, -vorous, -vores,
-vora, -vory (Latin: eat, consume, devour)


Quiz   If you would like to take a self-scoring quiz over some of the words in this section, then click Vorous-Quiz which is located at the end of this set of definitions so you can see how much you know about these “vorous” words.

gallivorous, gallivore, gallivory:
Feeding on galls. Galls are an abnormal growth in plants usually produced in response to microbial or fungal infection, or to attack by insects, mites, and other invertebrates.
graminivorous, graminivore, graminivory:
Eating grass (or feeding on grass).
granivorous, granivore, granivory:
To eat seeds.
Herbivora:
A general name for animals, especially mammals, that feed on herbage or plants.
herbivore:
An animal that eats vegetatioin, especially any of the plant-eating mammals, such as ungulates (cows, horses, etc.). Herbivores are characterized by having teeth adapted for grinding plants and alimentary canals specialized for digesting cellulose.

Grass contains considerably less protein than meat. A herbivore must, therefore, consume more food to obtain the same nutrients as a carnivore. Nutrients in meat are rather easily available and digestible, but this is not the case for plants. Their nutrients must be released by first patiently grinding through their cell walls, for plant cells are protected by a very tough covering of cellulose; also, natural toxins or other unpalatable substances can make a plant inedible. Great adaptive changes were needed in the digestive organs and teeth before grazing animals could become nearly as successful as the carnivores. Although the numerous sharp teeth of the insectivores indeed permitted these animals to seize and tear up their small, active prey, they failed miserably for chewing grass. To do this efficiently, broad chewing surfaces covered with hard cusps for grinding up plants were much more important than sharply pointed teeth.”

Grzimek’s Encyclopedia of Mammals,
Dr. Bernhard Grzimek; page 18, volume I;
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1990.


herbivorous, herbivore, herbivory:
1. Feeding exclusively or mainly on plants.
2. Eating or subsisting on herbs.
2. Herb-eating; applied to those animals that feed naturally on herbage or the leaves of plants.
A herbivore is a person who believes that all flesh should be grass.
—Anonymous

herbicarnivorous, herbicarnivore, herbicarnivory:
Living on (to eat) both vegetables and animals as sources of food.
hominivorous:
Devouring or eating human beings.
Insectivora:
A diverse order of small eutherian mammals comprising eight families:
Erinaceidae (hedgehogs),
Talpidae (moles),
Tenrecidae (tenrecs),
Chrysochloridae (golden moles),
Solenodontidae, Soricidae (shrews),
Macroscelididae (elephant shrews)
Tupaiidae (tree shrews); widespread distribution except Australian region, southern South America and oceanic islands.
insectivore, insectivorous, insectivory:
Feeding on insects.

There is informaton about human insectivores
at this web page.

lactivorous, lactivore, lactivory:
Feeding on or consuming milk as a source of food.
larvivorous, larvivore, larvivory:
Feeding on larvae.
leguminivorous, leguminivore, leguminivory:
Eating beans, peas, and other legumes.
lichenivorous, lichenivore, lichenivory:
Feeding on lichen as a source of food.
lignivorous, lignivore, lignivory:
Thriving on or in wood.
limivorous, limivore, limivory:
Eating mud.
mellivorous, mellivore, mellivory:
Feeding or subsisting on honey.
merdivorous, merdivore, merdivory:
Eating dung and fecal matter (said of insects).
microbivorous, microbivore, microbivory:
Feeding on or devouring microorganisms, especially bacteria.
mucivorous, mucivore, mucivory:
Consuming plant juices or mucilage.
nectarivorous, nectarivore, nectarivory:
Feeding on nectar; said of birds and insects.
nucivorous, nucivore, nucivory:
Eating nuts.


Quiz

Quiz    You may take a self-scoring quiz over some of the words in this section by just clicking on Vorous Quiz #2 to check your word knowledge.