piscivorous
- adjective
- /ˌpɪsˈsɪvərəs/
- Specialized
:
piscívoro
- In tropical waters, you can find several piscivorous predators that hunt schools of smaller fish.
Examples
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The same study found that the six snapper species studied were either primarily zooplanktivorous or primarily piscivorous and showed little overlap in diet composition between trophic guilds.
Academic text (1993) -
Many clupeids are, in turn, prey for various piscivorous predators through virtually their entire lives.
Academic text (1991) -
Silver hake become increasingly piscivorous, even cannibalistic, with age and may exert some regulatory influence on other fish populations of the northeast continental shelf ecosystem.
Academic text (2000) -
In the late 1980s, a major enhancement of piscivorous fishes (biomanipulation) increased grazing by zooplankton.
Academic text (2007) -
The tiger shark is a well-known piscivorous species that primarily feeds on other fish.
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Many species of piscivorous fish are vital for maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems.
How Fish-Eating
Surface Forms
Morphology
piscivorous = piscivore (semi-transparent) = pisc + vor + ous
The step from the noun 'piscivore' to the adjective by adding '-ous' is a regular and recognizable adjective formation.
Etymology
The word piscivorous comes from the Latin root pisc- meaning 'fish' and the ending -vorous meaning 'eating', like in carnivore or herbivore; so a piscivorous animal literally 'eats fish', which explains its modern meaning as an animal that feeds mainly on fish.