Definition of "saprophagous" []

• Feeding on decaying organic matter. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The wide range of trophic resources consumed by Geotrupidae dung beetles and the generally accepted saprophagous habits of the Scarabaeoidea ancestors suggest that the consumption of acorns constitutes a faculty that takes advantage of previous morphological adaptations."