Cannibalism (zoology)

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Cannibalism (zoology)

In zoology

Zoology

Zoology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of animals. The most common pronunciation of "zoology" is ; however, an alternative pronunciation is ....
, cannibalism is the act of one individual of a species consuming all or part of another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological

Ecology

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In zoology

Zoology

Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded for more than 1500 species (this estimate is from 1981, and likely a gross underestimation).

Unlike previously believed, cannibalism is not just a result of extreme food shortage or artificial conditions, but commonly occurs under natural conditions in a variety of species. In fact, scientists have acknowledged that it is ubiquitous in natural communities. Cannibalism seems to be especially prevalent in aquatic communities, in which up to ~90% of the organisms engage in cannibalism at some point of the life cycle. Cannibalism is also not restricted to carnivorous species, but is commonly found in herbivores and detritivore

Detritivore

Detritivores, also known as detritus feeders or saprophages, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus . By doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles....
s.

Sexual cannibalism

Sexual cannibalism is a special case of cannibalism

Cannibalism (zoology)

In zoology, cannibalism is the act of one individual of a species consuming all or part of another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecology interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded for more than 1500 species ....
in which a female organism kills and consumes a conspecific (same species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
) male before, during, or after copulation. Rarely, these roles are reversed. Sexual cannibalism has been recorded in the female redback spider, black widow spider

Black widow spider

Latrodectus mactans, the Black widow, is a species of spider in the genus Latrodectus. They are well known for the distinctive black and red coloring of the female of the species and for the fact that she will occasionally eat her mate after reproduction....
, praying mantis, and scorpion

Scorpion

Scorpions are any arachnid of the order Scorpionida. They are members of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. There are about 2,000 species of scorpions, found widely distributed south of about Latitude, except New Zealand and Antarctica....
, among others.

Size structured cannibalism

Size structured cannibalism, in which large individuals consume smaller conspecifics, is more common. In such size-structured populations, cannibalism can be responsible for 8% (Belding's Ground Squirrel

Belding's Ground Squirrel

Belding's Ground Squirrel , also called Sage Rat, is a squirrel that lives on mountains in the Western United States United States. In California, it often is found at 6,500?11,800 Foot in meadows between Lake Tahoe and Kings Canyon....
) to 95% (dragonfly

Dragonfly

A dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera....
larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e) of the total mortality, making it a significant and important factor for population and community dynamics. Such size structured cannibalism has commonly been observed in the wild for a variety of taxa.

Cannibalistic infanticide

Another common form of cannibalism is filial cannibalism (a form of infanticide

Infanticide (zoology)

In animals, infanticide involves the killing of young offspring by a mature animal of its own species, and is studied in zoology, specifically in the field of ethology....
) where adults eat the young of their own species (sometimes even their own immediate offspring). Classical examples include the chimpanzee

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially known as a chimp, is the common name for the two Extant taxon species of ape in the genus Pan where the Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s where groups of adult males have been observed to attack and consume conspecific infants, and cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
s , elephants, dog

Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
s, baboon

Baboon

Baboons are African Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and the Drill are larger....
s, bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives....
s, lion

Lion

The lion is a member of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. With exceptionally large males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger....
s,and some types of fish, where adult males commonly kill infants when they take over a new harem after replacing the previous dominant males. In agricultural settings, pig

Pig

Pigs, also called hogs or swine, are a genus of even-toed ungulates within the Family Suidae. The name pig, hog, or swine most commonly refers to the Domestic pig in everyday parlance, but technically encompasses several distinct species, including the Wild Boar....
s are known to eat their own young

Savaging

In animal science, savaging is overt aggression, usually including cannibalism infanticide of newborn offspring, by a mother animal. It is particularly prevalent among pigs, where it affects up to 5% of Gilt s....
, accounting for a sizeable percentage of total piglet deaths.

One, perhaps surprising, example is the bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins....
, which has been reported to kill its young through impact injuries. Another example is hamster

Hamster

Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 18 species, classified in six or seven genus....
s eating their young. Dominant male langurs tend to kill the existing young upon taking control of a harem. There has been sight of infanticide in the leopard

Leopard

The leopard is a member of the Felidae biological family and the smallest of the four "Panthera" in the genus Panthera; the other three are the tiger, lion and jaguar....
population.

Particularly in fish, one can discern

total filial cannibalism, where a parent eats the whole brood
cases where a parent eats only part. E.g. sand gobies
Sand goby

For the unrelated goby family see Kraemeriidae.The sand goby , also known as a polewig or pollybait, is a coastal goby of European waters from the Baltic Sea to the mediterranean seas, frequenting sandy areas, Littoral zones, lagoons, salt marshes and, in autumn, estuary....
Potamoschistus minutus can eat 40% of their eggs without reducing the outcome of their reproductive efforts.

Intrauterine cannibalism

Intrauterine cannibalism is a behaviour in some carnivorous species, in which multiple embryos are created at impregnation, but only one or two are born. The larger or stronger ones consume their less-developed siblings as a source of nutrients.

In adelphophagy, the fetus eats sibling embryos, while in oophagy

Oophagy

Oophagy is the practice of embryos feeding on eggs produced by the ovary while still inside the mother's uterus.Oophagy is thought to occur in all sharks in the order Lamniformes and has been recorded in the bigeye thresher , the pelagic thresher , the shortfin mako and the porbeagle shark among others....
it feeds on eggs.

Intrauterine cannibalism is known to occur in lamnoid sharks

Lamniformes

Lamniformes is an order of sharks, also known as mackerel sharks . It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the great white shark, and some extremely rare types, such as the megamouth shark....
and in the Fire Salamander

Fire Salamander

The Fire Salamander is probably the best-known salamander species in Europe. It is black with yellow spots or stripes to a varying degree; some specimens can be nearly completely black while on others the yellow is dominant....
, as well as in some teleost fishes. The Carboniferous

Carboniferous

The Carboniferous is a geologic period that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359.2 ? 2.5 annum , to the beginning of the Permian period, about 299.0 ? 0.8 Ma ...
chimaera

Chimaera

Chimaeras are Chondrichthyes in the order Chimaeriformes. They are related to the sharks and batoidea, and are sometimes called ghost sharks, ratfish , or rabbitfishes....
, Delphyodontos
Delphyodontos

Delphyodontos dacriformes was a prehistoric chimaera fish from the early Carboniferous, from the Bear Gulch Limestone Lagerst?tte, in Montana....
dacriformes, is suspected of having practiced intrauterine cannibalism, also, due to the sharp teeth of the recently born (or possibly aborted) juveniles (adults are unknown), and the presence of fecal matter in the juveniles' guts.

Cannibalism (zoology)

Sexual cannibalism

Size structured cannibalism

Cannibalistic infanticide

Intrauterine cannibalism

Further reading