This is a list of herbivorous animals, organized in a roughly taxonomic manner. In general, entries consist of animal species known with good certainty to be overwhelmingly herbivorous, as well as genera and families which contain a preponderance of such species. Herbivorous animals are heterotrophs, meaning that they consume other organisms for sustenance. The organisms which herbivores consume are primary producers, predominantly plants (including algae). Herbivores which consume land plants may eat any or all of the fruit, leaves, sap, nectar, pollen, flowers, bark, cambium, underground storage organs like roots, tubers, and rhizomes, nuts, seeds, shoots, and other parts of plants; they frequently specialize in one or a few of these parts, though many herbivores also have quite diverse diets.
List criteria Animal diets are not inflexible, and most animals will stray from their typical diet on occasion; for instance, cattle will eat chicks, and crocodiles will consume fruit. Though it can be hard to determine what is a true aberration, as opposed to being a normal, but minor component of the diet, animals are still regarded as herbivores, carnivores, or otherwise as long as the vast majority of their diet reflects such a categorization. Thus, several of the animals which appear on this list are commonly described as omnivores, but, where consumption of animal matter is marginal, they meet the criteria for inclusion. These cases are elaborated upon within the article. Where quantifiable data to support such an evaluation exist, this list generally includes animals whose diets are at least ~90% herbivorous, as a simple and arbitrary minimum, though a great many listees are far more herbivorous than this; perhaps the majority are closer to 95%, and a large number are nearly purely herbivorous. However, a small selection of taxa which are not usually this herbivorous also receive mention; typically, this is done when the animal is much more herbivorous than the vast majority of close relatives. For example, the maned wolf receives mention; its diet varies from mostly carnivorous to overwhelmingly frugivorous, being mostly a fairly balanced omnivore overall, but they are still listed because no other living Canid is nearly so herbivorous. Other animals may receive mention if at least some populations of the species regularly consume very plant-heavy diets. The issue is further complicated by variation based on region, sex, age, season, and other factors, as well as differing techniques for measuring dietary proportions and a lack of data on many species. A number of listed taxa also consume a significant quantity of fungi. On the whole, however, this list consists almost entirely of animals which are known with good certainty to be overwhelmingly herbivorous, with exceptions being noted.
Invertebrates
Insects Herbivory is of extreme ecological importance and prevalence among insects. Perhaps one third (or 500,000) of all described species are herbivores. Herbivorous insects are by far the most important animal pollinators, and constitute significant prey items for predatory animals, as well as acting as major parasites and predators of plants; parasitic species often induce the formation of galls. Herbivorous insects also form symbioses with numerous plants, animals, and fungi, including complex relationships with various species of ant, and have greatly impacted the evolution of plants.
Larval mayflies are generally herbivorous; adults have short lifespans and do not eat at all. Most members of the order Orthoptera; for instance, most grasshoppers and katydids are herbivores Butterflies Many beetles of the Scarabaeoidea, including many scarabs, like the goliath and rhinoceros beetles (e.g., the hercules beetle), and all of the stag beetles The jewel beetles (family Buprestidae) Certain ladybugs (family Coccinellidae): The subfamily Epilachninae, comprising 1/6 of all ladybug species, is entirely herbivorous, including members such as the Mexican bean beetle and the bryony ladybird. The leaf beetles (family Chrysomelidae) The weevils (family Curculionidae) Almost all adult bees (clade Anthophila), including mason bees, honeybees, bumblebees, sweat bees, and carpenter bees All true bugs (order Hemiptera) outside of Heteroptera are herbivores, including cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, aphids, scale insects, and whiteflies Most Heteropterans are also herbivorous, including most of the leaf-footed bugs, seed bugs and their relatives, plant bugs, and shield, stink, and burrowing bugs and their relatives
Other invertebrates Most terrestrial isopods (woodlice) are detritivores of plant matter Millipedes, with scarce exceptions, are also detritivores of plant matter Bagheera kiplingi, a jumping spider Garden snails and slugs
Vertebrates
Fish Herbivorous fish play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, especially in tropical reefs, where they promote a balance between corals and macroalgae. Herbivorous fish include:
Acanthurus lineatus or lined surgeonfish (also known as blue-banded surgeonfish, blue-lined surgeonfish, clown surgeonfish, pajama tang, striped surgeonfish, and zebra surgeonfish) Acanthurus nigrofuscus, known as the lavender tang, brown tang, or spot-cheeked surgeonfish Zebrasoma scopas, known as the brown tang, two-tone tang, scopas tang or brush-tail tang. The unicornfishes (Nasinae) genus is primarily herbivorous. Most of the nearly 100 species of the parrotfish family are herbivores. Grass carp, so named for its diet of aquatic plants. The various genera of pacu are mostly herbivorous. The majority of Loricariidae, including most pleco and Otocinclus species, are predominantly or exclusively herbivorous.
Amphibians Unusually for tetrapods, herbivory is rare among extant adult lissamphibians. There are, however, many larval and a few adult amphibians which take significant plant matter:
At least two species of siren (and possibly the entire family) will consume algae, though they are still primarily carnivorous or omnivorous The Indian green frog is mostly herbivorous Xenohyla truncata, the Izecksohn's Brazilian treefrog, is significantly frugivorous The majority of frog tadpoles are primarily herbivorous
Reptiles
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