detritivore

noun

Etymology: From German Detritivore, from Latin dētrītus (“the act of rubbing away”) (from dēterō (“to rub away, to rub off, to wear out”), from dē- (“away; down”) + terō (“to rub; to wear away, to wear out”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, to rub by twisting; to twist, to turn”)) + Latin vorāre (from vorō (“to devour, to eat greedily; to swallow up”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour”)). Analyzable as detritus + -i- + -vore.

1. An organism that feeds on detritus.

   “Termites are herbivores and detritivores variously involved in the comminution and decomposition of vegetable matter, through most of the warm temperate and tropical zones.”

   “If one has sound data for microbial biomass dynamics in decaying litter, along with identities of the decomposer fungi, then one can make useful projections and hypotheses regarding nutrient flow, environmental controls on decay rates, and potential detritivore production founded upon basic knowledge of the properties of fungal species and their interactions with other microbes and animals[…].”