In this article we are going to refer to the definition of Omnivorous Animals and we will give you a list of the most representative omnivorous animals, with characteristics, images and curiosities, in some cases little known, that you should know about them, so get ready to learn more about them. these spectacular living beings.
What are omnivorous animals?
In principle, omnivorous animals, which comes from the conjugation of two Latin words, omnivŏrus, which groups the expression omnis, what does everything mean and the expression vorare, which means to eat, are those who can feed on meat and plants at the same time. His first classification divides them into reptiles, fish, birds, and mammals.
The location in one classification or another will be subject to the anatomical conditions and the ability to adapt to the environment in which they live during the evolution of the species. Another classification that is used is the one that divides this large group of omnivorous animals depending on their diet into those that are carnivorous animals and those that are herbivorous animals.
Certainly there are many cases of herbivorous animals that sometimes also include meat in their diet, and cases of carnivorous animals that eat plants, but this classification refers only to the adaptations and the primary food source of a species in general, in ways that the exceptions that have been observed do not make that animal in particular or the species in general to which it belongs omnivorous.
What are omnivorous animals?
Omnivorous animals are those that feed on plants and other animals further down the food chain. It is a characteristic of omnivorous animals that their body is not fully adapted to feed exclusively on meat or feed exclusively on plants or vegetables, and thanks to evolution, the body of these animals is prepared to digest both.
If we look closely, we can see that the jaw of omnivorous animals has a combination of several kinds of teeth, which allow them to chew both one type of food and the other. That is why they have strong molars, providing them with the capacity and space to chew, as is the case with exclusively herbivorous animals, but they also have canine teeth that are specially adapted to tear, a characteristic that is particular to carnivorous animals.
It is important to keep in mind that there are herbivorous animals that may occasionally feed on meat and that there are carnivorous animals that sometimes feed on plants, but in reality these animals could not be classified as omnivores.
For an animal to be classified as an omnivore, it is necessary that it has as its main source of food a mixture of lower animals and plants on a regular basis in its daily diet.
Characteristics of Omnivorous Animals
As we have already indicated, omnivorous animals are those that base their diet on products that may be of vegetable or animal origin, from which it can be deduced that we can indicate that their first characteristic, and which also constitutes a defining feature of this type of animals, is that they can practically adapt to any type of environment, as far as food is concerned.
Because their body is able to digest any kind of food, they have the necessary ability to survive in any environment. But for the possibility of survival to be true, there are other factors that must be taken into account, such as the presence of other predators or the type of climate and other conditions.
On the other hand, and as we have said before, the way in which their teeth are composed turns out to be another of the characteristics of omnivorous animals, because it is the result of the combination of the teeth of a carnivore, as is the case of short incisors and longer canines, which are curved and sharp for biting and tearing, with those of a herbivore such as premolars and molars slightly sharp and flat for crushing and grinding.
Examples of Omnivorous Animals: Mammals
Mammalian animals are vertebrate animals whose reproduction is based on the fact that they are capable of developing the embryos of their offspring inside the mother, so that they are also included in the viviparous group. Now, these mammalian animals can also be classified, based on their embryonic development, as placentals, monotremes or marsupials, but most of them are placentals.
It must be taken into consideration that not all mammalian animals feed in the same way, therefore, included in this group we are going to get carnivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous animals. Next we are going to elaborate a list of the omnivorous mammalian animals that are the most common:
Pig
This is probably the best-known omnivorous animal of all, and it is important to note that today it can be found not only on farms, but also in homes, because the pig has become a widely used pet.
An interesting fact is that studies have proven that the pig is classified as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet, even surpassing the dog and the cat, according to a scientific study carried out by Donald M. Broom at the University of Cambridge.
Bear
The bear is considered one of the most opportunistic omnivorous animals that exist, because it adapts very easily to the place where it lives. If there is an abundance of fruit in your area, its diet will consist exclusively of fruit, and if in your area there is a river with many fish, it is very common to see it fishing throughout the day.
So, although you may not be able to believe it, the panda bear is also considered a omnivorous animal, due to the fact that from time to time it is capable of hunting a rodent or a small bird to reinforce its habitual diet of bamboo. The only exception to all of them is the polar bear, which is exclusively carnivorous, but this is because in its natural habitat there are no plants or vegetables that it can eat.
Sea Urchin
It is another animal, which, strange as it may seem, has also become a companion pet. Many people believe that the hedgehog should only be fed small invertebrates and flies, but hedgehogs like to eat some fruit or vegetables from time to time. But it must be given very sparingly.
Fox
The general idea is that most people think that the fox is a carnivorous animal, but what is true is that the fox is an omnivorous animal, because it can obtain its food from both smaller animals and fruits. or other plant-based foods.
Dog
Now we may be wondering if the dog is an omnivorous or carnivorous animal. The truth of the matter is that originally the dog was exclusively carnivorous, however, when it was possible to domesticate it, its survival instinct and its great capacity for evolutionary adaptation, has caused that today there is a great debate and controversy around this issue.
For this reason, some experts have sanctioned a theory that indicates that, on occasions, we will find that the dog has been classified in the group of carnivorous animals, but the truth is that biologically it is an omnivorous animal, because its organism is in the ability to digest other types of food that are not of animal origin.
On the other hand, other experts base their conclusions on the dog's teeth to affirm that it continues to be a carnivorous animal that, from time to time, eats vegetables and fruits. Although this is true, we must say that more and more researchers have chosen to classify the dog within the category of omnivorous animals, but slightly modifying the terminology, because they have decided to call it an opportunistic omnivore.
This is so, because based on its teeth and digestive system, it should be considered a carnivorous animal, as we have already said, but due to its evolutionary process, ability to adapt and increased opportunities to eat other foods , today it is closer to being an omnivorous animal.
Whatever our opinion, the dog's diet is based mainly on meat and fish, and to a lesser extent on vegetables, fruits and some cereals, among the many products that can be consumed.
This turns out to be so, because in its wild state, the dog's diet used to be composed of some type of vegetables and fruits that were required by its body, through its prey or, even, through the resources that nature itself put at his fingertips if the dog felt a nutritional deficiency in his body or was hungry.
Human being
Yes, the human being is an animal that is characterized by having a mixed diet, so we are omnivorous animals, and, in the case of those people who decide to eliminate meat from their diet, they are not called herbivores, but vegans or vegetarians. .
Research has shown that in the first species of the genus Homo, the change from a predominantly vegetarian diet was not caused by cultural reasons, but was due to imbalances in the metabolism of the species, product of a greater brain development.
The genus homo and archaeological evidence
But if we are talking about the human being, it has also been shown that a protein-based diet must be supplemented with carbohydrates and fats, because if this is not the case, problems related to important deficiencies in nutrition will begin to arise and even cause death. of the individual.
In the investigations carried out, much evidence has been found that supports the classification of human beings in omnivorous animals, among these evidences the following can be mentioned:
- Archaeological evidence shows that humans had a diet that included meat, since it has been shown that from the beginning they were gatherers and hunters. When the domestication of food sources began, the phenomenon occurred in animals as well as vegetables and plants with the development of agriculture.
- One of the most important characteristics to be able to determine the diet of a species is found in its intestine, but we are not referring to its length, but to the different cells found in it, both in quantity and distribution. This happens with human beings. In the case of dogs, it is known that they were originally carnivores, but their current intestinal characteristics have more features in common with omnivores. In wolves it has been shown that they eat many foods of plant origin.
- Almost all plant eaters have within their food apparatus structures called fermentation vats, which are chambers in which the food remains for a time, the time necessary for it to be attacked by microbes. This is what can be observed in ruminants such as deer and cows, which have anterior sacs, formed by the modified esophagus and stomach; horses, rhinoceroses and colobine monkeys have posterior sacs in the epigastrium. Humans do not possess such specialized organs.
- The evidence that has been found regarding the structure and function of our hands and jaws, behavior and evolutionary history, supports the hypothesis of an omnivorous diet, because it fails when it comes to substantiating a strictly vegetarian diet in living beings. humans.
But the greatest evidence is found in the teeth, because the existence of short canines in humans turns out to be a functional consequence of an expanded skull and the necessary reduction in jaw size.
In the case of primates, it turns out that the canine teeth have a double function, because they serve as a defensive weapon and also as a visual threat; But gorillas and geladas, which are groups of primates that have larger canines, have a mostly plant-based diet.
In archaeological sites, broken human molars have sometimes been confused with the premolars or molars of pigs, which is the quintessential omnivorous animal. Although it must also be said that there are some herbivores that have highly developed incisors, which could have been confused, eventually, with those of human beings.
- The existence of salivary glands in human beings also constitutes a basis for being able to affirm that we are omnivorous animals. It is scientifically proven that saliva and urine change a lot, and this is physiologically based on the type of diet that is eaten rather than on the taxonomic group to which the animal belongs.
Blue whale
It is an aquatic mammal that today is in serious danger of extinction due to its indiscriminate hunting, which can reach twenty meters in length and usually weigh approximately one hundred and eighty tons.
Its large size is its main characteristic, but at the same time it is the reason why it requires a lot of food to be able to survive, since it has to eat between two and three tons of food every day. They are known to have a great ability to be good predators, and although they do not have teeth, their diet is based on squid, small fish, krill and plankton.
Mouse
The mouse is a mammal that has become an omnivorous animal thanks to the adaptation that has allowed it to take advantage of waste, if it lives in urban areas. This is so because the waste and remains that are obtained are not always from food that has a vegetable origin, so the mouse has managed to adapt its diet to the consumption of any waste that it can find.
Coati
The coati is a very small mammalian animal whose diet is made up of bird chicks, insects, frogs, eggs, fruits and snakes. Although it has a tendency to feed more on insects, because they are the food source that it is usually easier to come across.
Chipmunk
The squirrel is a mammal whose diet is based on nuts, such as walnuts and hazelnuts, but it also feeds on various types of seeds, such as sesame or sunflower, some flowers, thistles, fungi, insects, etc. mainly crickets and worms and even bird eggs. Like the bear or the crow, they are opportunistic animals that will try to collect all the food they find in their path to take it to their burrow.
Other omnivorous mammals
Along with the ten that we have already explained and that are the most well-known omnivorous animals, there are other omnivorous mammals such as the following:
- some raccoons
- Mouse
- Flat
- Chipmunk
- Passerby
- Armadillo
- Chimpanzee
- wild boar
- gerbil
- Opossum
Examples of Omnivorous Animals: Birds
It seems strange that we can classify some birds as omnivorous animals, particularly because they do not have teeth, for which reason their digestive system is completely adapted so that they can digest their food practically whole.
For this to happen, your esophagus has a dilation that receives the name of crop and that makes it easier for you to store food before it is digested. On the other hand, in its digestive system it has an organ called the gizzard, belonging to the stomach, whose function is to grind the food with the help of its energetic muscles and the small stones that are inside it (gastroliths) and that the birds themselves ingest with that purpose.
Certainly, we can find exclusively carnivorous birds, birds that only eat fruits or grains and there are omnivorous birds, as is the case of the examples of birds on the list that we are going to explain next:
Crow
If we have previously stated that the bear is an opportunistic animal, the crow surpasses it by far. As you have probably seen in many movies, they are always looking for the remains of dead animals, but they have also become accustomed to eating vegetables and cereals if that is what is around them as a food source, in the event that they have attacked group plantings.
Gallina
Chickens are the best example of omnivorous animals, because they eat absolutely everything, gobble up everything in their path. Anything you can throw at a hen will eat it and fill its crop with whatever it finds without hesitation for a single second. But you have to know that, even if they like it, it is not very appropriate to give them bread because it has the effect that they lay fewer eggs.
Ostrich
Although the main source of food for these birds are vegetables and plants, ostriches like insects and whenever they can, they hunt one to supplement their diet.
Magpie
These very striking birds are also characterized by eating everything. They are so voracious that in their diet we can get insects, eggs, rodents, fruits, seeds and even other smaller birds, among other foods that they can find.
Rhea
This omnivorous bird does not have the ability to fly, but its digestive system is able to eat different foods, from leaves, fruits, seeds, small insects such as the highly appreciated grasshopper, reptiles such as lizards, snakes and small birds.
Other omnivorous birds
- Seagull
- Sparrow
- Duck
- Partridge
- Toucan
- Peacock
- Swan
- Cockatoo
- Goose
- Blackbird
- Paloma
- Pheasant
- Flamenco
- Woodpecker
- Turkey
- Petirrojo
Examples of Omnivorous Animals: Fish and Reptiles
Along with birds and mammals, you probably don't know that there are reptiles and fish that we will also find that are omnivorous animals such as piranhas or some species of turtle.
Piranha
It is very likely that you thought that the piranha was an exclusively carnivorous animal because of the reputation that these ferocious animals have acquired thanks to the movies. It turns out that the piranha certainly bases its diet on feeding on other fish, insects and even pieces of raw meat if it is provided, but it is possible that we can find plants, seeds or fruits in its diet.
But even today we have not been able to know the total number of existing species of piranhas, so it is impossible for us to be able to assert that all of them are omnivorous animals, because it has been established that some carnivores have been discovered, such as the red-bellied piranha, which, although they have the ability to feed sporadically on plants, seeds or fruits, the basis of their food is made up of other animals.
Clownfish
There are a large number of omnivorous fish in the sea, one of the most appreciated being the clown fish, which can reach a length between ten and eighteen centimeters, although in the case of females larger specimens can be found, because they have to be larger than males. They are found in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
These fish enjoy a varied diet, because they have the ability to feed on the remains that sea anemones can leave, but also on molluscs, pieces of tentacles and parasites, and plankton, among others.
Other examples of omnivorous fish
- Cod Fish
- Tent
- Moraine
- Surgeon fish
- Blowfish
- guppy fish
- Tilapia
Turtles
Several species of sea and land turtles turn out to be omnivorous animals, because their diet consists of both small animals and products whose origin is of a plant nature. In the case of marine species, small fish, crustaceans, algae and molluscs are the basis of their diet.
In the case of land turtle species, we can see a big difference, because they like insects, small birds, fruits, small mammals, some vegetables and worms.
Some examples of turtles that are omnivorous animals are the Chinese tortoise, the red-footed tortoise, or the painted turtle.
Other examples of omnivorous reptiles
- ocellated lizard
- Saharan spiny-tailed lizard
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