Question

Differentiate between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Give two examples of each.

Answer 1

Hint: An ecosystem consists of different types of animals. Their type of nutrition and food take is also different. The plant can produce its own food. Some animals are unable to prepare their own food, they depend on plants and other animals for their food and energy. According to their food consumption, they are classified as herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.

Complete answer:
There are different types of animals present in an ecosystem. They all have a requirement of constant energy for survival or to stay alive. To carry out different life processes, animals required food.

Generally, animals are unable to produce their own food. For the food, animals have to depend on the food producers of the ecosystem i.e. plant and on the other animals. Based on the food habit and physical structure, the animals can be categorized into three groups; herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. All of these three categories of animals are dependent on each other for their survival.

Herbivores are the category of those animals who are dependent on grass for their food They only take plants and grass for their survival. The digestive system of the animals belongs to the category of herbivores, and can digest all the grassy leaves. From the grass and plants, they get their required nutrients.

Herbivores	Carnivores	Omnivores
The animals that are dependent directly on the plants are known as herbivores.	Carnivores are the animals that prey and eat the herbivores.	The omnivores feed both on the plants and herbivores.
They are the first level of consumers.	They are the second level of consumers.	They are the tertiary level of organisms.
Salivary glands present in herbivores are well developed and help in the digestion of the fruits and grains.	In the case of carnivores, the salivary glands are not well developed and small.	In omnivores, the salivary glands are also well developed which helps in the pre-digestion of food.
The teeth of herbivores are not sharp but there is a pointed front tooth.	Teeth are sharp enough for chewing the meat and they also have pointed teeth.	The teeth of omnivores are not sharp and no pointed front teeth are seen.
Teeth are modified for crushing and grinding for plants.	Teeth are useful for tearing flesh from preys.	Teeth are suited for eating plants as well as meat.
Deer, goats, zebras, etc. are the examples of the herbivores.	Carnivores animals are lions, tigers, dogs, etc.	Humans, bears, crows are referred to as omnivores.

Note: In an ecosystem, different types of animals are present. Their food habits are also different. Based on the food habit the animals are divided into three groups. First herbivores, who take grass and plants as their food. Next are carnivores, who eat the meat of herbivores as food. And at the last, there are omnivores, who are able to eat both grass and meat as their food.