HERBIVORE

animal adapted to subsist solely on plant tissues. The herbivores range from insects (such as aphids) to large mammals (such as elephants), but the term is most often applied to ungulates, or hoofed mammals. Types of adaptation for a herbivorous diet include specializations such as the four-chambered stomach of ruminants, the ever-growing incisor teeth of rodents, and the specialized grinding molars of cattle, sheep, goats, and other bovids. Certain herbivores are monophagous (restricted to one type of food), as is the koala to eucalyptus, but most have at least a moderate variety in their diets.