Most of us prefer a little variety in what we eat. Not true for these five “specialized” species, which … (+) seem perfectly contained by relying on a single type of food.
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Humans are, by nature, omnivores. Our teeth and digestive systems have evolved to be adapted to eat animal and plant materials.
Research on the first humans suggests that the diet of our ancestors consisted of a variety of types of food, including fruits, vegetables and meat. The truth is that we need nutrients found in vegetable and animal sources to maintain our health.
But this is not the case for all animals. Some have evolved extremely specific regimes – desadiets which would even put the most absolute human to shame. Here are five examples of specialized food species.
1. Vampire bat – the mammal that lives on the blood
Like its fictitious counterpart, the common vampire bat survives only on the blood – in sight … (+) veins in his prey for her next meal.
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For most animals, a liquid diet is not durable – with the exception of common vampire bats (Desmodus Round), the only mammals that survive entirely on the blood. Found in Central and South America, these bats have evolved an arsenal of adaptations to carry out this unusual food strategy.
The heat sensors in their noses help them locate the veins near the surface of the skin of their prey, and their sharp incisors make precise and painless incisions. Their saliva contains powerful anticoagulants that run the blood while they go up.
Living on blood poses extreme physiological challenges, but vampire bats have evolved rapid metabolisms to treat their meals. They can convert up to 60% of their energy from amino acids in a few minutes, an unequaled metabolic feat in other mammals.
However, their unique diet also makes them very vulnerable to famine – if they spend more than two days without food, they risk death. To survive, the vampire bats practice reciprocal altruism, sharing regurgity blood with fierce comrades – rare and complex social behavior in the animal kingdom.
2. Koala – The difficult eater that lives on “poison”
While koalas are specialized eucalyptus eaters, they double their selectivity by consuming … (+) Only about 30 of the more than 600 species of eucalyptus.
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Koala (Ciner phascolarctos) is another highly specialized eater, according to almost entirely eucalyptus leaves for its diet. These leaves are low in nutritional value and contain toxins, which makes them difficult to digest for most animals.
However, Koalas have a highly suitable digestive system, including a CAECUM and an enlarged colon. This allows them to detoxify chemicals in eucalyptus leaves and extract enough nutrients.
Koalas are also very selective on the species of eucalyptus they consume, more narrowing their already specialized diet. Despite the availability of more than 600 species of eucalyptus, koalas feed mainly by around 30, with species like Eucalyptus microcomas,, E. Tereticornis And E. CAMALDULensis being particularly favored, according to a August 1993 study published in Australian mammalogy.
This dependence on a single food source makes them vulnerable to loss of habitat and changes in the availability of eucalyptus.
3. Aardwolf – Hyena species that “cannot chew meat”
A male werewolf showing its “specialized” language and looking at the camera.
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The terrestrial wolf (Protels Cristata), a member of the Hyena family found in East and Southern Africa, is a specialist in remarkable dietetics who feeds mainly on termites – especially those of the genre Triinervitermes.
Unlike its relatives of the carnivorous hyena, the Aardwolf has evolved to consume up to 300,000 termites per night, using its long sticky language to reassemble them with remarkable efficiency. This extreme class food preference the Aardwolf as a myrmecophageal (an insect eater specializing in ants or termites).
His teeth are small and underdeveloped compared to other hyenas, an adaptation to its prey with soft body rather than soft meals. In addition, its digestive system is refined to extract the nutrients from termites, which are rich in protein but low in fat. Because Lewolf Aardfol is so dependent on specific termites species, its range is limited to the regions where they are abundant, which makes it highly specialized in food and housing, a rarity among its carnivorous parents.
4. Giant panda – The bamboo lover who will enjoy to survive
Giant pandas can be wired to eat both meat and plants, but bamboo is what their hearts – and … (+) Stomachs – but 99% of time.
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Despite being a member of the Carnivora order, the giant panda (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) is almost exclusively a bamboo eater – about 99% of its diet consists of this fibrous and difficult plant.
Pandas have strong jaw muscles and specialized molars designed to crush bamboo, but their digestive system is always more suitable for an omnivorous diet. They consume large quantities – up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of bamboo per day – to meet their energy needs.
However, bamboo is low in nutritional value and pandas must spend most of their day to eat to acquire enough nutrients.
5. SNAIL KITE – The wonder to we
Named according to the food they prefer, the kite of the PROIS snail almost exclusively on apple snails.
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Kite Snail, a bird of prey from Florida wetlands and parts of Latin America, is an example of a food specialization manual. It feeds almost exclusively with apple snails, a species found in abundance in the Florida Everything.
This bird has developed a long, slim and specialized bill which allows it to extract the snails from their shells. The dependence of the snail kite on a single food source makes it vulnerable to changes in the population of snails, such as those caused by environmental changes or invasive species.
Like pandas, these birds have highly specialized behaviors and adaptations to survive their particular food.
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