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What are the types of consumers other than the herbivores, omnivores and carnivores?

Heterotrophs are also called consumers. These are organisms that must consume pre-formed organic compounds in order to obtain energy.


Besides herbivores, carnivores and omnivores, there are two additional heterotrophs that can be identified in a food chain or web. One is called a detritivore and the other is called a decomposer.


The detritivore consumes the remains of plant and animal matter. An example of this type of consumer is an earthworm. It eats dead matter in the soil including the remains of leaves.


A decomposer is an organism that can actually break down organic matter into its simplest components. Examples include bacteria of decay and various fungi involved in the process of decomposition.


When a dead tree falls to the forest floor, over time, various fungi grow on the dead tree and help to break it down. Decomposers are critical in returning chemicals back to the ecosystem again so that living organisms can obtain these chemicals to help them survive. 


Therefore, the additional consumers in an ecosystem include detritivores and decomposers.

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