apex predator

American  

[ey-peks pred-uh-ter, -tawr] / ˈeɪ pɛks ˈprɛd ə tər, -ˌtɔr /

noun

1. a carnivore that preys on other animals but has no natural predators of its own; the predator at the top of a particular food chain.

   Sharks fill an important ecological niche as apex predators, keeping the population of other species from exploding.

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Etymology

Origin of apex predator

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

To earn his “cloak,” a symbol of acceptance as a full-fledged member of his clan, Dek travels to the planet Genna to bag a Kalisk, a fellow apex predator even his father won’t risk his life against.

From Salon

According to Voris, "This new species provides us the window into the ascent stage of Tyrannosaur evolution; right when they're transitioning from small predators to their apex predator form."

From Science Daily

Scientists believe that Khankhuuluu, or one of its relatives, crossed a land bridge into North America, where it evolved into the formidable apex predator Tyrannosaurs.

From Science Daily

In the years since her widely praised Broadway run as “Mean Girls” villain Regina George, which she embarked on when she was just 19, Rapp has had a stint in television, reprised her role as North Shore High School’s apex predator for a movie musical adaptation of “Mean Girls” and released and toured an EP and two albums’ worth of music.

From Los Angeles Times

Swimming with the birds made me feel like I, too, was a wild creature — another element in the web of life rather than the apex predator detached from the natural world that I usually am in my everyday urban existence.

From Los Angeles Times