Would one ever refer to a fish, reptile, bird, etc., as a carnivore, or is that term used only for mammals? Why? What do you call other types of critters that also eat meat?
I think you can call them carnivores when referring to their diet, but if you mean a member of the order Carnivora, then it can only be one of those mammals. By extension if you use “carnivorous” or “carnivore” in the sense of being a member of Carnivora, then it can only refer to those mammals.
Some Carnivores, for example many bear species, actually are mostly herbivorous in diet.
Try googling carnivore with dinosaur, bird or reptile; the term is quite often applied to them.
Name of an order. :smack:
I knew that.
:smack:
(where’d my “smack” smiley go?)
This site says most members of Carnivora, except for the Felidae (cats), are actually omnivorous.
A big-C Carnivore is a mammal belonging to Carnivora, and may or may not eat meat. A little-c carnivore eats meat, and may or may not be a mammal, and may or may not belong to Carnivora.
Right where you put it. Twice. Do you, per chance, have the option “Show smilies in posts” unchecked in your User CP?
Nope – something goofy was going on with my browser. All better now.
Darwin’s Finch – thanks for the answer – that actually serves to explain the brain fart I was experiencing about the nature of, yanno, C/carnivores.
FWIW - many plants are referred to as carnivorous, although as far as I know, none of them is exclusively carnivorous. Still, if you look up sundew or pitcher plant or venus fly trap, you’ll find that adjective used frequently.
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