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List of herbivorous animals

This is a list of herbivorous animals, organized in a roughly taxonomic manner. In general, entries consist of animal species known with good certainty to be overwhelmingly herbivorous, as well as genera and families which contain a preponderance of such species.

Herbivorous animals are heterotrophs, meaning that they consume other organisms for sustenance. The organisms which herbivores consume are primary producers, predominantly plants (including algae). Herbivores which consume land plants may eat any or all of the fruit, leaves, sap, nectar, pollen, flowers, bark, cambium, underground storage organs like roots, tubers, and rhizomes, nuts, seeds, shoots, and other parts of plants; they frequently specialize in one or a few of these parts, though many herbivores also have quite diverse diets.

List criteria

Animal diets are not inflexible, and most animals will stray from their typical diet on occasion; for instance, cattle will eat chicks, and crocodiles will consume fruit. Though it can be hard to determine what is a true aberration, as opposed to being a normal, but minor component of the diet, animals are still regarded as herbivores, carnivores, or otherwise as long as the vast majority of their diet reflects such a categorization. Thus, several of the animals which appear on this list are commonly described as omnivores, but, where consumption of animal matter is marginal, they meet the criteria for inclusion. These cases are elaborated upon within the article.

Where quantifiable data to support such an evaluation exist, this list generally includes animals whose diets are at least ~90% herbivorous, as a simple and arbitrary minimum, though a great many listees are far more herbivorous than this; perhaps the majority are closer to 95%, and a large number are nearly purely herbivorous. However, a small selection of taxa which are not usually this herbivorous also receive mention; typically, this is done when the animal is much more herbivorous than the vast majority of close relatives. For example, the maned wolf receives mention; its diet varies from mostly carnivorous to overwhelmingly frugivorous, being mostly a fairly balanced omnivore overall, but they are still listed because no other living Canid is nearly so herbivorous. Other animals may receive mention if at least some populations of the species regularly consume very plant-heavy diets.

The issue is further complicated by variation based on region, sex, age, season, and other factors, as well as differing techniques for measuring dietary proportions and a lack of data on many species. A number of listed taxa also consume a significant quantity of fungi. On the whole, however, this list consists almost entirely of animals which are known with good certainty to be overwhelmingly herbivorous, with exceptions being noted.

Invertebrates

Insects

Herbivory is of extreme ecological importance and prevalence among insects. Perhaps one third (or 500,000) of all described species are herbivores. Herbivorous insects are by far the most important animal pollinators, and constitute significant prey items for predatory animals, as well as acting as major parasites and predators of plants; parasitic species often induce the formation of galls. Herbivorous insects also form symbioses with numerous plants, animals, and fungi, including complex relationships with various species of ant, and have greatly impacted the evolution of plants.

Other invertebrates

Vertebrates

Fish

Herbivorous fish play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, especially in tropical reefs, where they promote a balance between corals and macroalgae. Herbivorous fish include:

  • Acanthurus lineatus or lined surgeonfish (also known as blue-banded surgeonfish, blue-lined surgeonfish, clown surgeonfish, pajama tang, striped surgeonfish, and zebra surgeonfish)
  • Acanthurus nigrofuscus, known as the lavender tang, brown tang, or spot-cheeked surgeonfish
  • Zebrasoma scopas, known as the brown tang, two-tone tang, scopas tang or brush-tail tang.
  • The unicornfishes (Nasinae) genus is primarily herbivorous.
  • Most of the nearly 100 species of the parrotfish family are herbivores.
  • Grass carp, so named for its diet of aquatic plants.
  • The various genera of pacu are mostly herbivorous.
  • The majority of Loricariidae, including most pleco and Otocinclus species, are predominantly or exclusively herbivorous.

Amphibians

Unusually for tetrapods, herbivory is rare among extant adult lissamphibians. There are, however, many larval and a few adult amphibians which take significant plant matter:

  • At least two species of siren (and possibly the entire family) will consume algae, though they are still primarily carnivorous or omnivorous
  • The Indian green frog is mostly herbivorous
  • Xenohyla truncata, the Izecksohn's Brazilian treefrog, is significantly frugivorous
  • The majority of frog tadpoles are primarily herbivorous

Reptiles

Squamates (lizards, snakes, and worm lizards)

All snakes and the majority of non-snake squamates (lizards) are carnivorous. However, some degree of herbivory is relatively common among lizards. Perhaps 12% of lizards have diets which are >10% herbivorous. Dedicated herbivory, with plants constituting >90% of the diet, occurs in perhaps ~1% of lizards, though estimates vary.

Chelonians (turtles/tortoises)

Dinosaurs (non-avian)

Birds

Although, by some counts, only 2-3% of extant bird species are primarily herbivorous, herbivorous birds are nonetheless incredibly diverse, having evolved independently within at least nine distinct lineages. Herbivorous birds include important pollinators and seed dispersers, as well as both the smallest and largest living birds (the bee hummingbird and the common ostrich, respectively). On islands with little to no mammalian colonization, large herbivorous birds frequently evolved to assume niches typically held by mammals, sometimes attaining enormous sizes; on the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, Madagascar, Mauritius, New Caledonia, and Fiji, birds were nearly if not the largest terrestrial herbivores, though the vast majority are now extinct. Birds which are mostly herbivorous as adults will frequently feed their young a far more insectivorous diet, though there are many exceptions.

Palaeognathae

  • Ratites, excluding the kiwis, are often described as omnivorous, and will eat varying quantities of small animals and insects. However, the typical wild diet for non-kiwi ratites is overwhelmingly and sometimes exclusively herbivorous:
  • Ostrich diets can be over 99% herbivorous, though this may vary, but not significantly
  • Rheas: the lesser rhea and greater rhea are essentially 100% herbivorous (though this can drop to 97% for greater rheas in some cases)
  • Emus may be nearly 100% herbivorous in wild habitats, but can also engage in significant insectivory at times
  • The three species of cassowary are virtually exclusively frugivorous, though the dwarf cassowary's diet can be up to 3% insect at times; cassowaries will also consume significant volumes of mushrooms
  • The (recently extinct) moas (order Dinornithiformes) and elephant birds (order Aepyornithiformes) were herbivores
  • Tinamous: although data are scarce, many tinamous are quite omnivorous, and some are primarily insectivores. However, the vast majority of tinamous are primarily herbivorous, sometimes nearly exclusively:
  • Crypturellus species, such as the yellow-legged and Tataupa tinamous, are predominantly frugivorous, with some (largely seasonal) insect consumption
  • Nothura and Nothoprocta species are predominantly granivorous or seed-eating; the Andean tinamou is over 90% herbivorous, while Darwin's nothura is ~95% herbivorous or more, and the ornate tinamou averages nearly 99%
  • Many Tinamus species are overwhelmingly frugivorous, such as the solitary tinamou; the black tinamou has only been observed eating fruits and seeds, but is assumed to consume some insects

Galloanserae

Neoaves

Mirandornithes
Columbaves
Elementaves
  • Two lineages of Strisores:
  • The oilbird (the only species in order Steatornithiformes) has a diet consisting almost entirely of fruit. It is the only herbivorous Strisore apart from the hummingbirds, as well as the only nocturnal, frugivorous flying bird in the world; their young are also frugivores
  • Virtually all of the >300 species of hummingbird (family Trochilidae) are overwhelmingly nectarivorous. Insectivory is widespread and nutritionally important, but the typical diet is probably about 90% nectar and 10% arthropod by mass, with time budget records yielding similar ratios (~5-15% of feeding time devoted to insectivory). Exceptional (including exclusive) and sustained insectivory has been documented, although these accounts have also been met with skepticism. On the opposite extreme, overwhelmingly nectarivorous diets have also been documented for several species:
  • Populations of shining sunbeam have been recorded spending 93-97% of total feeding time on nectar
  • Purple-throated caribs have had nectar feeding time budgets of >99% recorded (although extremely low figures are also recorded for this species, but they are likely erroneous)
  • In fiery-throated hummingbirds, insectivory accounts for a little over 1% of total feeding time in males, and ~8% in breeding females
  • The hoatzin, the sole living member of Opisthocomiformes, is 100% herbivorous; they are largely folivorous, including young, and have unique gastrointestinal adaptations to this diet
  • A selection of gruiforms are predominantly herbivorous, including:
  • All three of the trumpeters (family Psophiidae) are ~90% frugivorous, with the remainder of their diets consisting of small animals
  • Although the cranes (family Gruidae) are omnivorous to varying degrees, most are primarily herbivorous:
  • The Siberian crane is predominantly and sometimes exclusively herbivorous, though precise data are scarce
  • The sandhill crane's diet varies, but has been found to be 80%, 85%, or over 95% herbivorous across various seasons and locales; much lower figures (~11%) have also been recorded, but are less typical
  • Though precise data are lacking, the white-naped crane, brolga, and sarus crane are also heavily herbivorous
  • Most (but not all) other cranes are overwhelmingly herbivorous, including the blue crane and wattled crane. The common crane is >90% herbivorous in winter, while the winter diet of black-necked cranes is 86% herbivorous. The demoiselle crane is 80-97% herbivorous during spring and autumn migration
  • Although exact data are lacking, the rails (family Rallidae) are mostly omnivores. However, several species lean herbivorous, and a few are overwhelmingly herbivorous:
  • The Tasmanian native-hen feeds overwhelmingly on plants, with some minor insect consumption
  • The coots (genus Fulica) are all overwhelmingly herbivorous; the American coot may be 90% or 97% herbivorous, while the Eurasian coot has been found to be 97% herbivorous. The red-knobbed coot may be nearly 100% herbivorous
  • Most of the swamphens (genus Porphyrio) are extremely herbivorous; the takahē, grey-headed swamphen, and Australasian swamphen are all nearly 100% herbivorous
  • Two lineages of Charadriiformes contain a few overwhelmingly herbivorous species:
  • The buttonquails are largely omnivores, but a few species are especially herbivorous, such as the little buttonquail and the yellow-legged buttonquail
  • All four species of seedsnipe (family Thinocoridae) are virtually purely herbivorous
Telluraves

Mammals

Herbivory is quite common among mammals, with herbivores occurring across diverse lineages and in a large variety of sizes, bodyplans, and niches. Both large and small herbivorous mammals are often important prey species for various predators, though the largest, such as the so-called , are generally safe from predation as healthy adults. Large, herbivorous mammals came to dominate global ecosystems in the Cenozoic, and, though vastly reduced in number, they continue to be key features of certain modern ecosystems, such as the Maasai Mara and Kaziranga National Park.

Marsupials

Placental mammals

Xenarthrans
Afrotheres
Euarchontoglires
Laurasiatheres

See also

References