"Bloodsucker" redirects here. For other uses, see
Bloodsucker (disambiguation) Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the habit of certain
animals of
feeding on
blood (from the
Greek words, haima, "blood", and phagein, "eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious
proteins and
lipids that can be taken without enormous effort, hematophagy has evolved as a preferred form of feeding in many small animals such as
worms and
arthropods. Some intestinal
nematodes, such as Ancylostomids, feed on blood extracted from the capillaries of the gut and about 75% of all species of
leeches (e.g. Hirudo medicinalis), a free-living worm, are hematophagous. Some
fish, such as
lampreys, and
mammals, especially the
vampire bats, also practice hematophagy.
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