Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh.
Overview
Carrion is an important food source for large
carnivore
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other so ...
s and
omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or
scavengers) include
crow
A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientific ...
s,
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
s,
condors,
hawks,
eagles,
hyenas,
Virginia opossum,
Tasmanian devil
The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...
s,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological n ...
s and
Komodo dragon
The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant ...
s. Many invertebrates, such as the
carrion and burying beetles, as well as
maggots of
calliphorid flies (such as one of the most important species in ''
Calliphora vomitoria
''Calliphora vomitoria'', known as the blue bottle fly, orange-bearded blue bottle, or bottlebee is a species of blow fly, a species in the family Calliphoridae. ''Calliphora vomitoria'' is the type species of the genus '' Calliphora''. It is ...
'') and
flesh-flies, also eat carrion, playing an important role in recycling nitrogen and carbon in animal remains.
Carrion begins to decay at the moment of the animal's death, and it will increasingly attract insects and breed
bacteria. Not long after the animal has died, its body will begin to exude a foul odor caused by the presence of bacteria and the emission of
cadaverine
Cadaverine is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)5(NH2)2. Classified as diamine, it is a colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. It is present in small quantities in living organisms but is often associated with the putrefaction of anim ...
and
putrescine
Putrescine is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)4(NH2)2. It is a colorless solid that melts near room temperature. It is classified as a diamine. Together with cadaverine, it is largely responsible for the foul odor of putrefying flesh, ...
.
Some plants and
fungi smell like
decomposing
Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...
carrion and attract insects that aid in reproduction. Plants that exhibit this behavior are known as
carrion flower
Carrion flowers, also known as corpse flowers or stinking flowers, are mimetic flowers that emit an odor that smells like rotting flesh. Apart from the scent, carrion flowers often display additional characteristics that contribute to the mimesi ...
s.
Stinkhorn mushrooms are examples of fungi with this characteristic.
Sometimes carrion is used to describe an infected carcass that is diseased and should not be touched. An example of carrion being used to describe dead and rotting bodies in literature may be found in
William Shakespeare's play ''
Julius Caesar'' (III.i):
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.
Another example can be found in Daniel Defoe's ''
Robinson Crusoe'' when the title character kills an unknown bird for food but finds "its flesh was carrion, and fit for nothing".
Consumption by humans
In Noahide law
The thirty-count laws of
Ulla (Talmudist) include the prohibition of humans consuming carrion. This count is in addition to the standard seven law count and has been recently published from the Judeo-Arabic writing of
Shmuel ben Hophni Gaon Samuel ben Hofni (Hebrew: שמואל בן חפני, or full name: רב שמואל בן חפני גאון bbreviation: רשב"חor שמואל בן חפני הכהן; also: Samuel b. Hofni or Samuel ha-Kohen ben Hofni; died 1034). He was the Gaon of ...
after having been lost for centuries.
Mossad HaRav Kook
Mossad HaRav Kook ( he, מוסד הרב קוק, "Rabbi Kook Institute") is a religious research foundation and publishing house based in Jerusalem.
Mossad Harav Kook is named after Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the Britis ...
edition of Gaon's commentary to Genesis.
References
{{Authority control
Zoology
Ecology
Animal death
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