stercovorous

C2+ Topic:Animals
US /ˌstɝːˈkɑːvərəs/ UK /ˌstɜːˈkɒvərəs/
adj

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    feeding on dung, especially as an insect or other small animal

    Stercovorous beetles buried portions of the fresh dung beneath the soil.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · feeding on dung, especially... dung-eatingcoprophagousscatophagous
Word family
Related forms dung beetledetritivorecoprophagy

Etymology

Formed from Latin stercus, genitive stercoris, 'dung,' + -vorous, 'eating,' from Latin vorare, 'to devour.' Nineteenth-century naturalists used it chiefly of dung-feeding insects.

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