caecotroph

English

Alternative forms

Noun

caecotroph (plural caecotrophs)

  1. (biology) In certain mammals, especially rabbits and some rodents, a cake or pellet of food which is produced by means of digestion and expulsion through the anus.
    • 2002, J. Jarvis and P. Sherman, "Heterocephalus glaber Rüppell, 1842: Naked Mole-rat," Mammalian Species, no. 706, p. 5,
      Vocalizations include food recruitment calls, high-pitched contact and aggressive chirps, a mating call, a toilet-assembly call, and vocalizations specific to pups, such as squawks when pups are stepped on and caecotroph-solicitation chirps.
    • 2003, Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake, →ISBN, page 158:
      He finds the caecotrophs revolting, consisting as they do of semi-digested herbage, discharged through the anus and reswallowed two or three times a week.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.