rock
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Post by rock on Jun 3, 2019 19:17:32 GMT 5
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Post by theropod on Jun 3, 2019 19:48:30 GMT 5
Some definite incidences of carnivory→ notwithstanding, The vast majority of Hippos’ diet consists of plant matter, their teeth and digestive system are adapted for dealing with plant matter, which means that under any sensible definition of the terms, hippos are just as much herbivores as wolves are carnivores. We shouldn’t spend all out time discussing semantics, so can we maybe just agree on a use of the terms "omnivore", "herbivore" and "carnivore" that’s consistent with the way these terms are generally applied in biology? Omnivores are animals that incorporate significant quantities of both plants and animals into their diet, and that are not adapted to fill specialized herbivore or carnivore positions (i.e. no hypercarnivorous slicing teeth, no cellulose fermentation chambers), such as bears. Carnivores are animals that incorporate mostly animals, and in whom plantmatter represents only a very insignificant part of the diet, such as wolves. Herbivores are animals that incorporate mostly plants, and in whom animals only constitute a very insignificant part of the diet, such as gorillas, or hippos, or cattle. Otherwise, we could make thousands of these threads for every herbivore known to consume animals (there are quite a few, because meat is much easier to digest than plants and a welcome supplement to most herbivores if it is accessible). Ceratopsians or hadrosaurs fed on small crustaceans, that does not make them omnivores, it just means that like pretty much all herbivores, they wouldn’t be afraid to ingest some additional proteins if they presented themselves.
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Post by dinosauria101 on Jun 3, 2019 20:44:49 GMT 5
Thanks for posting those videos rock! They'd be perfect for the carnivorous herbivores thread! Also, they'd only be omnivores if every individual ate meat regularly
theropod Thank you as well for pointing that out! Helps this question a lot!
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rock
Senior Member Rank 1
Posts: 1,586
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Post by rock on Jun 3, 2019 22:46:42 GMT 5
Thanks for posting those videos rock! They'd be perfect for the carnivorous herbivores thread! Also, they'd only be omnivores if every individual ate meat regularly theropod Thank you as well for pointing that out! Helps this question a lot! i agree that hippos are herbivores but not as strict as sheeps and buffulo.
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