The namepiscivore is derived from Latinpiscis'fish' and vorō'to devour'. Piscivore is equivalent to theGreek-derived wordichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater".
The ecological effects of piscivores can extend to otherfood chains. In a study ofcutthroat trout stocking, researchers found that the addition of this piscivore can have noticeable effects on non-aquatic organisms, in this case bats feeding oninsects emerging from the water with the trout.[2] Another study done onlionfish removal to maintain low densities used piscivore densities as a biological indicator for coral reef success.[3]
There exist classifications of primary and secondary piscivores. Primary piscivores, also known as "specialists", shift to this habit in the first few months of their lives. Secondary piscivores will move to eating primarily fish later in their lifetime. It is hypothesized that the secondary piscivores' diet change is due to an adaptation to maintain efficiency in their use of energy while growing.[4]
Numerous extinct and prehistoric animals are hypothesized to have been primarily piscivorous due to anatomy and/or ecology. Furthermore, some have been confirmed to be piscivorous through fossil evidence. This list includes specialist piscivores, such asLaganosuchus, as well as generalist predators, such asBaryonyx andSpinosaurus, found to have or assumed to have eaten fish:
Baryonyx (an opportunistic predator that had a crocodile-like skull, and scales of thelepidotid fishScheenstia have been found in a skeleton where the stomach should be)[7]
Elasmosaurus (long neck, stereoscopically positioned eyes, and long teeth are thought to be adaptations for stalking and trapping fish and other schooling animals)
Laganosuchus (flattened head suggests that it passively waited for fish to swim near its mouth in order to engulf them)[8]
Ornithocheirus (hypothesized to be piscivorous due to anatomy of its jaws and dentition)
Pteranodon (remains of fish found in the beaks and stomach cavities of some specimens)
Spinosaurus (close relative ofBaryonyx, is hypothesized to have preyed on fish because of giantcoelacanthids found in the same environment, and due to anatomical features, including apressure-sensitive snout that could have detected movements of swimming prey)[7][9]
Titanoboa (multiple cranial and biochemical characteristics suggest it was primarily piscivorous)[10]
^Sahney, S.; Benton, M. J.; Falcon-Lang, H. J. (2010). "Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica".Geology.38 (12):1079–1082.Bibcode:2010Geo....38.1079S.doi:10.1130/G31182.1.
^abcHart, Paul (2002).Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 267–283.ISBN978-0632054121.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Bright, Michael (2000).The private life of sharks : the truth behind the myth. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.ISBN978-0-8117-2875-1.[page needed]
^David, Lore Rose. January 10, 1943.Miocene Fishes of Southern California The Society p 104–115
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