Herbivore
Species that feed on plants: grass, leaves, stems, roots or seeds.
What it means
Eating plants is harder than it sounds: cellulose is difficult to digest and no animal produces the necessary enzymes on its own. Herbivores solve the problem with symbiotic microbes housed in a compartmented stomach or a very long gut, and with teeth that grow continuously to withstand the wear. In return they gain access to an abundant resource, and their grazing pressure shapes the landscape: many open ecosystems exist because large herbivores are feeding in them.
Species
Gallery
