hematophagy

English

WOTD – 21 March 2009

Alternative forms

• hematophagia
• haematophagy

Etymology

From hemato- +‎ -phagy.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌhiː.məˈtɒf.ə.dʒɪ/, /ˌhiː.məˈtɒf.ə.ɡɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌhi.məˈtɑf.ə.d͡ʒi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

hematophagy (uncountable)

1. The practice, of some animals, of feeding on blood.
   • 2005, Conrad C. Labandeira, “Fossil History and Evolutionary Ecology of Diptera and Their Associations with Plants”, in David K. Yeates, Brian M. Wiegmann, editors, The Evolutionary Biology of Flies, page 239:

     Most Lower brachyceran taxa also have nectarivorous or related fluid diets..., although a few basal clades have shifted to predominantly hematophagy; particularly the Spaniidae, Anthericidae, Xylophagidae, and certain lineages within the Tabanidae.

Synonyms

• hematophagia

Related terms

• hematophagic
• hematophagous
• hemovore

Translations

practice of feeding on blood

• Czech: hematofagie f
• Polish: hematofag (pl) m