detritivore
noun
de·tri·ti·vore di-ˈtrī-tə-ˌvȯr 
: an organism (such as an earthworm or a fungus) that feeds on dead and decomposing organic matter
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Midge larvae love eating algae and are what’s called a detritivore, Calabrese said. 
Emily Bamforth, cleveland, 19 May 2020 Being a detritivore, the snail gets its nutrients primarily from eating rotted vegetation. National Geographic, 26 Mar. 2020 All parts of the food chain were attracted to the reefs, including herbivores, detritivores, planktivores and predatory piscivores, the researchers found. Fox News, 3 Dec. 2019 The discussion about detritivores, which process waste material into soil by way of their own humus-like waste material. David Gilbert, The New Yorker, 4 June 2017 These non-insect arthropods are usually detritivores (feed on decaying plant material), but can and do sometimes feed on vegetables, particularly root vegetables like carrots and sugar beets. OregonLive.com, 31 Mar. 2018
Emily Bamforth, cleveland, 19 May 2020 Being a detritivore, the snail gets its nutrients primarily from eating rotted vegetation. National Geographic, 26 Mar. 2020 All parts of the food chain were attracted to the reefs, including herbivores, detritivores, planktivores and predatory piscivores, the researchers found. Fox News, 3 Dec. 2019 The discussion about detritivores, which process waste material into soil by way of their own humus-like waste material. David Gilbert, The New Yorker, 4 June 2017 These non-insect arthropods are usually detritivores (feed on decaying plant material), but can and do sometimes feed on vegetables, particularly root vegetables like carrots and sugar beets. OregonLive.com, 31 Mar. 2018 Word History
Etymology
International Scientific Vocabulary detritus + -i- + -vore (from Latin -vorus -vorous)
First Known Use
1959, in the meaning defined above
- unappealing
- unappealingly
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