Crabeating

/kræbˌiːtɪŋ/ adjective

Definition

Describing animals or behavior related to eating crabs; most commonly used in 'crabeating seal.'

Etymology

Compound adjective formed from 'crab' plus 'eating' (the present participle of 'eat'), used as a descriptive term for animals or feeding behavior.

Kelly Says

Scientific names based on diet ('crabeating,' 'insectivore') seemed like good ideas at the time, but nature is full of misnamed creatures, showing how early scientists sometimes guessed wrong about what animals ate.

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