Nutrition Flashcards
Herbivores
Animals that only eat plant materials
e.g. Sheep, cattle and rabbits
Different groups of animal according to what they feed on
- Herbivores
- Carnivores
- Omnivores
Carnivores
- Animals that only eat other animals
- e.g. Cats, hyenas and lions
Omnivores
- Feed on both plant and animal matter
- e.g. Humans, pigs and baboons
Specific arrangement of teeth for a specific food source
Dentition
Four main types of teeth
- Incisors
- Canines
- Premolars
- Molars
Structure and function of incisors in humans
Chisel shaped for biting off pieces of food
Structure and function of canines in humans
Slightly longer than incisors with a point for biting and tearing off pieces of food
Structure and function of premolars in humans
- Have one or two blunt points (cusps)
- Used to chew or crush food into small pieces
Structure and function of molars in humans
- Larger than premolars, they have four or more blunt points (cusps)
- used to chew or crush food into small pieces
Herbivore lifestyle
- Spends most of the time grazing low energy foods
- No active chasing of prey
- Smaller herbivores need to escape predators
Carnivore lifestyle
- Very active when hunting and chasing prey
- Very inactive between hunts
Omnivores
- Relatively more active than herbivores
- Often opportunistic feeders
Dentition of a herbivore
- Sharp incisors for chopping vegetation
- Often canines absent and a large gap between incisors and molars
- Large flat premolars and molars for grinding food
Dentition of a carnivore
- Pointed incisors for tearing meat
- Long elongated canines for gripping and puncturing prey
- Sharp strong premolars and molars for crunching small bones
Dentition of an omnivore
- Chisel shaped incisors for biting
- Canines for tearing
- Flatter premolars and molars for grinding and crushing
Ingestion
The intake of food through the mouth