A saprotroph (or saprobe) is an organism that obtains its nutrients from non-living organic matter, usually dead and decaying plant or animal matter, by absorbing soluble organic compounds. Since saprotrophs cannot make food for themselves, they are considered a type of heterotroph. They include many fungi (the rest being parasites or mutualistic symbionts), bacteria, and protozoa. Animal scavengers, such as dung beetles, and vultures and a few unusual non-photosynthetic plants are also sometimes referred to as saprotrophs. A heterotroph (Greek heteron = (an)other and trophe = nutrition) is an organism that requires organic substrates to get its carbon for growth and development. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ... A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of it. ... In biology, mutualism is an interaction between two species in which both species derive benefit. ... Common Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) in their Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica) home. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Protozoa (in Greek proto = first and zoa = life) are single-celled eukaryotes (organisms with nuclei) that show some characteristics usually associated with animals, most notably mobility and heterotrophy. ... Categories: Stub ... Genera not a complete list Agestrata Augosoma Canthon Chalcosoma Chelorrhina Cheirolasia Cheirotonus Cotinis Dynastes Eudicella Goliathus Megsoma Onthophagus Pachnoda Phanaeus Plusiotis Ranzania Rhomborrhina Stephanorrhina Xylotrupes The scarab is a type of beetle noted for rolling dung into spherical balls and pushing it, as well as its habit of laying its... A Nubian Vulture Vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. ...

Saprophyte is an older term that is now considered obsolete. The suffix -phyte means "plant", however, there are no truly saprotrophic organisms that are embryophytes, and fungi and bacteria are no longer placed in the Plant Kingdom. Plants that were once considered saprophytes, such as non-photosynthetic orchids and monotropes, are now known to be parasites on other plants. They are termed myco-heterotrophs because a mycorrhizal fungus connects the parasitic plant with its host plant. Divisions Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants The embryophytes are the most familiar group... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Orchid re-directs here; for alternate uses see Orchid (disambiguation) Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Monotropaceae was a small family of flowering plants under the old Cronquist system of plant classification. ...

Some saprotrophic organisms are useful scavengers, and in sewage farms and refuse dumps break down organic matter into nutrients easily assimilable by green plants.

References

• Hershey DR. 1999. Myco-heterophytes and parasitic plants in food chains. American Biology Teacher 61: 575-578.
• Leake JR. 2005. Plants parasitic on fungi: unearthing the fungi in myco-heterotrophs and debunking the ‘saprophytic’ plant myth. Mycologist 19: 113-122. [1]