A European Informational Website
learn more
An omnivore (from Latin: omne all, everything; vorare to devour) is a species of animal that is physiologically adapted for eating and digesting both plant and animal matter. This characteristic places omnivores in the level of both primary and higher level consumers.
Humans are an omnivorous species due to their physiological adaptations to eating a varied diet of vegetation and meat. As with all omnivorous species they are capable of sustaining themselves with diets of just meat or vegetables but both must be carefully managed to avoid health problems (notably anemia with vegetarians and heart disease with those who eat diets made up mostly of meat). The digestive system and dentition of Homo sapiens serve as a prime example of omnivorous adaptations.
The dentition of omnivores is adapted to eating plant and animal matter. The human jaw structure is a well known example, as the incisors and canines are good for tearing flesh and the molars are good for grinding vegetable matter.
Many wide-ranging and resilient species are omnivores, such as rats, raccoons and opossums. These are often called opportunistic feeders.
Omnivores can live on different types of food as the availability changes throughout the year. Grizzly bears, for example live on shrubs, berries and usually smaller mammals and animals until the salmon migration to mating grounds. The bears take advantage of this migration and store nutrition from the salmon before hibernating in winter. All omnivorous animals are by definition heterotrophs.
Because omnivores can digest a wide variety of food sources, omnivores tend to be well adapted to many different environments.