Xylophagy

As Xylophagie ( from Ancient Greek ξύλον xylon " wood"; ancient Greek φαγεῖν phagein "eat" ) is referred to the consumption of wood.

Of wood -feeding creatures are mostly of arthropods and especially insects of different orders. Purely xylophag nourishing animals often specialize in wood of certain plant families, or only feed on wood at certain stages or with certain characteristics, such as dead wood (where this term is used saproxylophag ) or sapwood or heartwood.

A variety of wood -eating insects digested the timber symbiotically living in their intestinal protozoa and / or bacteria. These allow disassembly of indigestible cellulose. Others, such as termites have the ability to self- cellulases, cellulose- degrading enzymes to produce. There are also some species that indeed eat rotten wood, but actually feed on the fungi growing therein. The mushrooms in turn will be disseminated through it further, because their spores are adhering to the bodies of animals, common.

Also, some species of armored catfish feed mainly on wood, about the summarized under the name pleco species.