embryophagy

English

Etymology

From Latin embryo and the suffix -phagy (“to feed on”); 1948; created to describe the behavior of sandtiger shark embryos.

Noun

embryophagy (uncountable)

  1. The act of one embryo cannibalizing another for food in utero; at present only characterized in some species of sharks.

Synonyms

Further reading

Intrauterine Cannibalism in Sharks Google Search

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.