The term herbivore is applied to define all those species of living beings that base their diet on vegetables and plants, that is, they have eliminated any type of meat from their diet, however there are those who consider that the correct term would be phytophagous, since in nature many species can feed on proteins of animal origin, such as eggs and even insects. Herbivores are considered the primary consumers, followed by secondary consumers, which are those that eat meat. It should be noted that those individuals, specifically human beings who abstain from meat consumption are not considered herbivores, but rather vegetarians or, failing that, vegan.
Many species of herbivores can be classified as frugivores since they are characterized by consuming exclusively fruits, another classification would be the folivores, these being leaf eaters, however this classification cannot be taken as universal since among the many herbivores that exist there are species that can consume various parts of a plant, be it its stems, roots, etc. The diet of these species can be very varied since it is related to the different seasons, especially in those areas of climatetemperate where the food can be very diverse depending on the time of year. Other calcifications are the browsers, which stand out for the consumption of the leaves of the shrubs, while those that consume wood are called xolophagi and those that consume granivorous seeds.
Despite the various classifications, the herbivores that have the greatest popularity are the so-called ruminants, named in that way because of the peculiar way in how they eat and digest food, they are considered the most important herbivores, especially for the man since thanks to them various foods can be obtained. These animals are characterized by the fact that they usually regurgitate food in the form of a ball towards the mouth in order to chew them again, the shape of their teeth is flat with a large size which makes it easier for them to grind them, in general these animals They have a large intestine so that that way they can better break down food.
