Types of Diets
Animals that eat primarily meat and have shorter digestive systems than herbivores
What are carnivores?
The type of digestive system with a single-chambered stomach, found in many carnivores and omnivores
What is a monogastric digestive system?
The physical breakdown of food particles into smaller pieces
What is mechanical digestion?
This can be used to identify animals, assist with dental procedures, and estimate age
What is a dental formula?
Name an example of a carnivorous small animal
What is a dog
These animals eat decomposing plant and animal matter, including feces
What are detritivores?
This system uses a modified single-chamber stomach and a cecum to help herbivores digest plant material
What is a modified monogastric digestive system?
The type of digestion that uses chemical reactions to break down food into usable pieces
What is chemical digestion?
Animals with this type of diet have complex digestive systems to break down cell walls of plants
What are herbivores?
What type of digestive system has one “true” stomach and is commonly found in pigs and humans?
What is a monogastric digestive system?
Animals that consume both plant- and animal-based foods
What are omnivores?
Birds have this unique digestive system, which includes parts like the crop and proventriculus
What is the avian digestive system?
Birds use this organ to grasp and mechanically break down food at the start of digestion
What is the beak?
Most snakes have teeth suited for this purpose, which helps them bring prey into their mouths
What is grabbing or pulling prey?
How does the avian digestive system differ from mammalian systems?
What is birds have a crop for storage, a proventriculus for chemical digestion, and a ventriculus for mechanical digestion, unlike mammals?
This type of animal eats insects, as well as spiders, worms, and crustaceans
What are insectivores?
Fish digestive systems are unique because they often have only a single set of these organs
What are intestines?
This organ in the modified monogastric system helps herbivores digest fibrous plant material
What is the cecum?
This unique feature of the avian digestive system stores food before digestion begins
What is the crop?
In reptiles, what is the purpose of a cloaca in the digestive system?
What is it serves as a common exit for waste products from the digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems?
These animals eat only plants and have complex digestive systems to break down rigid cell walls
What are herbivores?
These animals, like amphibians, end their digestive tract in a cloaca and consume whole prey
What are reptiles?
In amphibians, this part of the digestive tract absorbs nutrients but has a very short length
What is the large intestine?
Animals with a cloaca include these amphibians, who eat prey mostly whole
What are frogs (or amphibians)?
Which type of teeth are most prominent in carnivores, and what is their function?
What are canines, which are used for tearing meat?