insectivore
an insectivorous animal or plant.
any mammal of the order Insectivora, comprising the moles, shrews, and Old World hedgehogs.
Origin of insectivore
1Words Nearby insectivore
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use insectivore in a sentence
It is a rare insectivore of the genus Hylomys and possibly a species new to science.
Camps and Trails in China | Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup AndrewsIn some of the characters of the teeth, Eupleres is insectivore-like, and was formerly grouped with that family.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia | Frank Evers BeddardEriculus setosus is a small insectivore, resembling externally a small Hedgehog.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia | Frank Evers BeddardIndeed, one insectivore of the genus Sorex (the shrew-mouse genus) is the absolutely smallest mammal which is known to exist.
The other is a peculiar insectivore (Solenodon paradoxus), the only other representatives of whose family are found in Madagascar.
British Dictionary definitions for insectivore
/ (ɪnˈsɛktɪˌvɔː) /
any placental mammal of the order Insectivora, being typically small, with simple teeth, and feeding on invertebrates. The group includes shrews, moles, and hedgehogs
any animal or plant that derives nourishment from insects
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for insectivore
[ ĭn-sĕk′tə-vôr′ ]
An animal or plant that feeds mainly on insects.
Any of various small, usually nocturnal mammals of the order Insectivora that feed on insects and other invertebrates. Insectivores have long snouts and resemble rodents, but lack gnawing incisors. Moles, shrews, hedgehogs, and tenrecs are insectivores.
Other words from insectivore
- insectivorous adjective
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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