Scavenger vs. Necrophage — What's the Difference?

Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding behavior.

Necrophages are organisms that obtain nutrients by consuming decomposing dead animal biomass, such as the muscle and soft tissue of carcasses and corpses. The term derives from Greek nekros, meaning 'dead', and phagein, meaning 'to eat.' Mainly, necrophages are species within the phylum Arthropoda; however, other animals, such as gastropods and Accipitrimorphae birds have been noted to engage in necrophagy.Necrophages play a critical role in the study of forensic entomology, as certain Arthropoda, such as Diptera larvae, engage in myiasis and colonization of the human body.

An animal, such as a vulture or housefly, that feeds on dead or decaying matter.

An organism that eats dead or decaying flesh.

One that scavenges, as a person who searches through refuse for useful items.

(Chemistry) A substance added to a mixture to remove or inactivate impurities.

Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.

An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.

A street sweeper.

A child employed to pick up loose cotton from the floor in a cotton mill.

(chemistry) A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.

(archaic) To scavenge.

(archaic) To clean the rubbish from a street, etc.

A person whose employment is to clean the streets of a city, by scraping or sweeping, and carrying off the filth. The name is also applied to any animal which devours refuse, carrion, or anything injurious to health.

A chemical agent that is added to a chemical mixture to counteract the effects of impurities

Someone who collects things that have been discarded by others

Any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying organic matter