Crabeater

/kræbˌiːtər/ noun

Definition

An animal that eats crabs, such as the crabeater seal.

Etymology

Compound noun formed from 'crab' plus 'eater,' where 'eater' comes from the verb 'eat' plus the agent suffix -er. Used scientifically for animals with diets of crabs.

Kelly Says

The crabeater seal doesn't actually eat many crabs—it eats krill (tiny shrimp)—yet scientists named it incorrectly based on what they initially thought it ate, creating one of zoology's quirky misnomers.

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