Carnivore

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This article is about the general concept of a meat-eating animal. For the mammal order,
see Carnivora. For other uses, see Carnivore (disambiguation).

Lions are obligate carnivores consuming only animal flesh for their nutritional requirements

A carnivore /ˈkɑːrnɪvɔːr/, or meat-eater (Latin, caro, genitive carnis, meaning meat or

"flesh" and vorare meaning "to devour"), is
an animal whose food and energy requirements derive solely from animal tissues
(mainly muscle, fat and other soft tissues) whether through hunting or scavenging.[1]
[2]
 Animals that depend solely on animal flesh for their nutrient requirements are
called hypercarnivores or obligate carnivores, while those that also consume non-
animal food are called mesocarnivores or facultative carnivores.[2] Omnivores also
consume both animal and non-animal food, and apart from the more general definition,
there is no clearly defined ratio of plant vs. animal material that would distinguish a
facultative carnivore from an omnivore.[3] A carnivore at the top of the food chain, not
preyed upon by other animals, is termed an apex predator.
"Carnivore" also may refer to the mammalian order Carnivora, but this is somewhat
misleading: many, but not all carnivorans are meat eaters, and even fewer are true
obligate carnivores (see below). For example, while the Arctic polar bear eats meat
almost exclusively (more than 90% of its diet is meat), most species
of bears are omnivorous, and the giant panda is almost exclusively herbivorous.[4] There
are also many carnivorous species that are not members of Carnivora. The correct term
for mammals in this group is "carnivoran". Besides, some mammals, especially
the cetaceans, are highly carnivorous yet are not true Carnivorans.
Outside the animal kingdom, there are several genera containing carnivorous
plants (predominantly insectivores) and several phyla containing carnivorous
fungi (preying mostly on microscopic invertebrates such
as nematodes, amoebae and springtails).
Members of the plant kingdom can live on meat too, such as the Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant

Carnivores are sometimes characterized by their type of prey. For example, animals

that eat mainly insects and similar invertebrates are called insectivores, while those that
eat mainly fish are called piscivores. The first tetrapods, or land-dwelling vertebrates,
were piscivorous amphibians known as labyrinthodonts. They gave rise to insectivorous
vertebrates and, later, to predators of other tetrapods. [5]
Carnivores may alternatively be classified according to the percentage of meat in their
diet. The diet of a hypercarnivore consists of more than 70% meat, that of
a mesocarnivore 30–70%, and that of a hypocarnivore less than 30%, with the balance
consisting of non-animal foods such as fruits, other plant material, or fungi.