Meanings
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1
adj
feeding on dead or decaying animal matter
Necrophagous beetles arrived soon after the carcass was exposed.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Formed from necro-, 'dead body,' + -phagous, 'eating.' Both elements are Greek: nekros means 'dead person or corpse,' and -phagos comes from phagein, 'to eat.' The term is used chiefly in zoology and ecology for carrion-feeding organisms.