A synanthrope () is an organism that adapted to live near humans and evolved to benefit (either commensally, mutually or amensally) from human settlements and their environmental modifications. The term is usually used to describe wildlife (particularly urban wildlife), including many animals and plants regarded as pests or weeds (see also anthropophilia for animals who live close to humans as parasites), but does not typically include domesticated animal and plant species (even though they are synanthropic in every sense) and captive animals in cages/pens, zoos and aquaria.
Common synanthrope habitats and niches include buildings (e.g. houses, sheds and barns), non-building structures (e.g. granaries, greenhouses, bridges and towers), urban green spaces (e.g. parks, gardens and road verges), farms and ranches, canals/ditches and ponds, sewerages and rubbish dumps. Synanthropes might move between multiple habitats during different times of the day (for foraging, sociality or sleeping) and between seasons (for mating, nesting or dormancy).
Examples of synanthropes are various species of insects (ants, lice, bedbugs, silverfish, cockroaches, etc.), myriapods (millipedes and centipedes, notably the house centipede), arachnids (spiders, dust mite, etc.), reptiles (e.g. common house gecko, sunskinks), birds such as house sparrows, gulls, rock doves (pigeons), crows and magpies, honeyguides, swallows and other passerines, various rodent species (especially rats, house mice and squirrels), Virginia opossums, raccoons, certain monkey species, coyotes, deer, and other urban wildlife.
The brown rat is counted as one of the most prominent synanthropic animals and can be found in almost every place there are people.
Synanthropic plants include pineapple weed, dandelion, chicory, and plantain. Plant synanthropes are classified into two main types â apophytes and anthropophytes.
Apophytes are synanthropic species that are native in origin. They can be subdivided into the following:
Anthropophytes are synanthropic species of foreign origin, whether introduced voluntarily or involuntarily. They can be subdivided into the following: