saprophagan

English

Etymology

From saprophage +‎ -an.

Noun

saprophagan (plural saprophagans)

1. (zoology, archaic) a detritivore
   • 1981, “Soviet geography: Volume 22”, in American Geographical Society of New York:

     Natural and sown haylands also differ in the trophic structure of the animal population, with phytophagans and saprophagans about evenly divided in sown legumes and saprophagans dominating in natural grass.

Related terms

• saprophage
• saprophagous
• saprophagy

 

References

• “saprophagan”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.