A dung beetle rolling a ball of dung

Detritivores (also known as saprophages, detrivores or detritus feeders) are organisms that recycle detritus (decomposing organic material), returning it into the food chain. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1000x1100, 354 KB) Beschreibung Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Dung beetle Detritivore Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1000x1100, 354 KB) Beschreibung Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Dung beetle Detritivore Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... A crab is an example of an organism. ... Detritus may refer to: In geology, detritus is the name for loose fragments of rock that have been worn away by erosion. ... Organic material or organic matter is informally used to denote a material that originated as a living organism; most such materials contain carbon and are capable of decay. ... Food chains and food webs and/or food networks describe the feeding relationships between species in a biotic community. ...

Earthworms are a well-known example of detritus feeders, eating rotting plant leaves and other debris. Some detritus feeders, such as dung beetles, eat feces, which often contains a considerable nutrient load. The detritus may already have been partially or fully decomposed by decomposers. Families   Acanthodrilidae   Ailoscolecidae   Alluroididae   Almidae   Biwadrilidae   Eudrilidae   Exxidae   Glossoscolecidae   Lumbricidae   Lutodrilidae   Megascolecidae   Microchaetidae   Ocnerodrilidae   Octochaetidae   Sparganophilidae Earthworm is the common name for the larger members of the Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author) in the phylum Annelida. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... A dung beetle, with a shovel-like head, rolling a dung ball with its hindlegs. ... Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is waste product from an animals digestive tract expelled through the anus (or cloaca) during defecation. ... The fungi on the tree are decomposers. ...

Groups of detritivorous animals include: millipedes, woodlice, dung beetles, dung flies and burying beetles. Subclasses Helminthomorpha Penicillata Pentazonia Millipedes (Class Diplopoda, previously also known as Chilognatha) are very elongated arthropods with cylindrical bodies that have two pairs of legs for each one of their 20 to 100 or more body segments (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any... Infraorders and Families Infraorder Tylomorpha Tylidae Infraorder Ligiamorpha Ligiidae Mesoniscidae Superfamily Trichoniscoidea Buddelundiellidae Trichoniscidae Superfamily Styloniscoidea Schoebliidae Styloniscidae Titaniidae Tunanoniscidae Superfamily Oniscoidea Bathytropidae Berytoniscidae Detonidae Halophilosciidae Olibrinidae Oniscidae Philosciidae Platyarthridae Pudeoniscidae Rhyscotidae Scyphacidae Speleoniscidae Sphaeroniscidae Stenoniscidae Tendosphaeridae Superfamily Armadilloidea Actaeciidae Armadillidae Armadillidiidae Atlantidiidae Balloniscidae Cylisticidae Eubelidae Periscyphicidae Porcellionidae Trachelipodidae incertae... A dung beetle, with a shovel-like head, rolling a dung ball with its hindlegs. ... The Scathophagidae is a small family of Muscoidea which are often known as Dung-flies although this name is not appropriate except for a few species of the genus Scathophaga which do indeed pass their larval stages in animal dung. ... Species See text. ...

See also

• scavenger
• decomposer
• omnivore
• carnivore
• herbivore

Harvestman eating the tail of a five-lined skink The word scavenger, in zoology, refers to animals that consume already dead organic life-forms. ... The fungi on the tree are decomposers. ... Pigs are omnivores. ... This tigers sharp teeth and strong jaws are the classical physical traits expected from carnivorous mammalian predators A carnivore (IPA: ), meaning meat eater (Latin carne meaning flesh and vorare meaning to devour), is an animal that eats a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from live animals... A deer and two fawns feeding on some foliage A herbivore is often defined as any organism that eats only plants[1]. By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, about 1% of flowering plants and some protists can be considered herbivores. ...

External links

• Detritivores in aquaria

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