zoophagous, a.
(zəʊˈɒfəgəs)
[f. Gr. ζῷον animal + -ϕάγος -eating: see -phagous.]
Feeding on animals; carnivorous; belonging to the Zoophaga, a name for various groups of animals: opp. to phytophagous. So zoˈophagan a. and n.
| 1840 *Zoophagan [see entomophagan s.v. entomo-]. 1842 Brande Dict. Sci. etc., Zoophagans..the order of Unguiculate Mammals which live on animal food,..also the corresponding group of the Marsupial Quadrupeds. |
| 1835 Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. II. xvi. 70 *Zoophagous animals, or those which attack and devour living animals. 1839 Owen in Trans. Geol. Soc. Lond. Ser. ii. VI. 72 The true or zoophagous Cetacea. 1881 Nature 3 Feb. 324/1 The countless host of animals that inhabit the depths of the ocean, all of which are necessarily zoophagous. |