**Herbivores: Animals that eat only plants or plant products**

Herbivores are animals that have evolved to consume only plant material. They play a vital role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems by consuming and dispersing plant seeds, controlling plant growth, and providing food for other organisms. Herbivores possess adaptations that allow them to efficiently extract nutrients from plant matter, such as specialized teeth and digestive systems.

**Types of Herbivores:**

1. **Grazers:** Grazers are herbivores that primarily feed on grasses or other low-lying vegetation. Examples include cows, sheep, and horses. Grazers have sharp front teeth for cutting grass and a complex digestive system that enables them to extract nutrients from tough plant fibers.

2. **Browsers:** Browsers are herbivores that feed on leaves, twigs, and shoots of trees and shrubs. They include giraffes, elephants, and koalas. Browsers have long tongues and specialized molars that help them break down and digest tough plant material.

3. **Frugivores:** Frugivores are herbivores that specialize in eating fruits. They play a crucial role in seed dispersal by consuming fruits and then excreting the seeds in a different location. Examples of frugivores are monkeys, bats, and birds.

4. **Folivores:** Folivores are herbivores that primarily feed on leaves. They have adaptations to detoxify and extract nutrients from high-fiber leaf material. Sloths, koalas, and certain species of monkeys are examples of folivores.

5. **Nectarivores:** Nectarivores are herbivores that consume nectar from flowers. They have long beaks or tongues to reach deep into flowers and extract the sugary liquid. Hummingbirds, bats, and certain insects like bees and butterflies are nectarivores.

**Importance of Herbivores:**

1. **Seed Dispersal:** Herbivores help disperse plant seeds by consuming fruits and excreting the seeds in different locations. This aids in plant reproduction and colonization of new areas.

2. **Controlling Plant Growth:** Herbivores play a crucial role in controlling plant growth by grazing on vegetation. This prevents overgrowth, which can be detrimental to plant diversity and ecosystem balance.

3. **Energy Transfer:** Herbivores serve as a source of energy for other organisms in the food chain. Predators rely on herbivores as a food source, contributing to the overall stability of the ecosystem.

In conclusion, animals that eat only plant or plant products are known as herbivores. They have specialized adaptations to extract nutrients from plant material and play important roles in seed dispersal, plant growth control, and energy transfer within ecosystems.

The animals which eat only plant or plant products are called Herbivores