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Herbivores Animals Name List, Examples, Chart

Herbivore Definition: Herbivores are animals that only eat plant-based materials, such as leaves, fruits, stems, seeds, nectar, roots, bark, etc.

The term “herbivore” refers to animals that chew leaves, and insects that harm a plant by sucking sap, as well as more benign species that only gather pollen, nectar, or plant resin.

Both terms have Greek roots: “phyton,” which means “plant,” and “phagein,” which means “to eat or devour.”

There are thousands of herbivorous animals in the ecosystem.

List of Herbivores Animals Name
Herbivores Animals Name List

Herbivores Animals Name-List

Animal

Its Feed

AntelopeBushes, smaller trees, and grass.
BeaverLeaves, twigs, shrubs, ferns, aquatic plants, grasses, crops, etc.
BisonGrasses, weeds, and leafy plants.
BuffaloGrasses, rice straw, weeds, and leafy plants.
CamelGrass, grains, and wheat.
CowGrasses, rice straw, weeds, and leafy plants.
DeerLeaves, twigs, shoots of plants, vines, and rarely grass.
DonkeyBarley straw, hay, and grass.
IguanasLeaves from trees and vines.
BeesPollen and nectar.
EarthwormsDecaying roots and leaves.
RhinocerosesGrass, twigs, leaves, and small branches.
RabbitsHay, grass, fresh vegetables, few pellets
GoatWeeds,  grasses, hay,  grains, and small tree barks.
OxeGrasses, rice straw, weeds, and leafy plants.
Few Birds (sugarbirds, Cassowaries, Canada Geese, etc)Fruits, seeds, etc.
Herbivorous Fish (Acanthurus Lineatus, Acanthurus Nigrofuscus, Parrotfish, and Unicornfishes).Algae and leaves of small plants.

However, the herbivores have been separated into several groups based on their feeding strategies.

Animal

Its Feed

Examples

AlgivoresAlgaeHerbivorous fish
DetritovoreDecaying plant materialsFew earthworms, etc.
FrugivoresFruitOrangutans, hammer-headed bats, gorilla, etc.
FolivoresLeavesIguanas, koalas, etc.
NectarivoresNectarBees, sugarbirds, etc.
GranivoresSeedsFinches, sparrows, etc.
PalynivoresPollenMany insects and some mites etc.
MucivoresPlant fluids, mainly sapSome insects and birds.
XylophagesWoodBeavers, gribbles, wood-boring beetles, etc.

21 Examples of Herbivorous Birds

  1. Common Ostrich
  2. Evening Grosbeak
  3. Hoatzin
  4. House Finch
  5. Hummingbirds
  6. Parrots
  7. Oriole
  8. Goldfinch
  9. Gray Geese
  10. Macaws
  11. Canada Geese
  12. Pine Siskin
  13. Red Finches
  14. Large Waterfowl
  15. Nene
  16. Oilbird
  17. Somali Ostrich
  18. Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos
  19. Zebra Finch
  20. Rock Ptarmigan

14 Examples of Herbivorous Reptiles

  1. Desert Tortoise
  2. Sahara Spiny-Tailed Lizard
  3. Sinaloa Scrub
  4. Solomon Island Skink
  5. Argentina Tortoise
  6. Chuckwalla
  7. Desert Iguana
  8. Uromastyx
  9. Yellow-Footed Tortoise
  10. Dryland Tortoise
  11. Green Iguana
  12. Mediterranean Tortoise
  13. Morrocoy
  14. Prehensile-tailed skinks

7 Examples of Herbivorous Insects

  1. Butterflies
  2. Gall wasps
  3. Moths
  4. Leaf-mining flies
  5. Plant bugs
  6. Weevils
  7. Leaf beetles

Examples of Herbivorous Invertebrates

  1. Snails
  2. Millipedes
  3. Worms
  4. Insects
  5. Slugs
  6. Mites

Well-known herbivorous animals

  1. Mula
  2. Bongo
  3. Camel
  4. Deer
  5. Bumblebee
  6. Iguana
  7. Gorilla
  8. Moth
  9. Grasshopper
  10. Antelopes
  11. Manatee
  12. Kakapo
  13. Butterfly
  14. Honey bee
  15. Koala
  16. Hare
  17. Okapi
  18. Giraffe
  19. Ascidias
  20. Impale
  21. Bison
  22. Dugongo
  23. Capybara
  24. Kangaroo
  25. Fruit Bats
  26. Giant Panda Bear
  27. Cow
  28. Goat
  29. Elephant
  30. Bushbuck
  31. Rabbit
  32. Butter
  33. Horse
  34. chinchilla
  35. Howler Monkey
  36. Buffalo
  37. Call
  38. Hippopotamus
  39. Beaver
  40. Caterpillar

Facts and Characteristics of Herbivorous Animals

  • Entomologists frequently refer to any of these dietary strategies using the noun “phytophagy” and the adjective “phytophagous.”
  • Herbivores are animals that consume plant tissues or plant-based products.
  • Herbivory has had both positive and negative impacts on plants over evolutionary time.
  • The ability of flowering plants (the Angiosperms) to draw in insect herbivores and use them as pollinators have undoubtedly been advantageous.
  • However, some insects can also act as carriers of plant diseases.
  • Animals have had to adjust to many of the traits that plants have in order to use them as a food source.
  • To defend themselves against toxic substances found in plants, herbivores must have developed detoxification pathways.
  • Animal herbivores have the ability to, directly and indirectly, change the composition of plant communities.
  • Some herbivores strengthen the defenses of plants.
  • Certain plants can exhibit symbiotic interactions with ants that shield their host plants from other herbivores and also regulate the growth of nearby plants through weeding and pruning.
  • Plants have a variety of external structures, including leaves, stems, flower components, roots, fruits, and seeds.
  • Various plant species may have different versions of each of these structures. Therefore, herbivores should have some traits that enable them to exploit these structures. 
  • These include hard limbs for digging, saw-like, piercing, or cutting organs (like the chewing mouthparts of insects), and appendages (like claws, spines, or suckers) that allow them to cling to vertical or upside-down surfaces. They should also have wings to reach the tops of the tallest plants.
  • The majority and widest variety of herbivores are insects. According to estimates, herbivores make up about half of all living insects.
  • To eat hard plant material, herbivorous animals use a variety of strategies.
  • These include forming partnerships with other organisms and avoiding hard plant material by consuming plant fluids.
  • Other strategies include using chewing mouthparts to gnaw on tough parts and eating soft internal tissue.

References

  1. Katja Poveda,Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter,Stefan Scheu,Teja Tscharntke (2005). Wiley Online Library (doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13664.x)
  2. M. Bonkowski & S. Scheu, 2008. Biotic Interactions in the Rhizosphere: Effects on Plant Growth and Herbivore Development. Ecological Studies, vol 173. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. (doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74004-9_4)
  3. Australian flora and vegetation statistics, Australian National Botanic Gardens. Available online at (http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/australian-flora-statistics.html).