A
frugivore is a fruit eater. It can be any type of
herbivore or
omnivore where
fruit is a preferred food type. Because approximately 20 percent of all
mammalian herbivores also eat fruit, frugivory is considered to be common among mammals. Since frugivores eat large volumes of fruit, they are highly dependent on the abundance and nutritional composition of fruits. Frugivores can either benefit fruit-producing plants by dispersing seeds, or they can negatively affect plants by digesting seeds along with the fruits. When both the fruit-producing plant and the frugivore species benefit by fruit-eating behavior, their interaction is called a
mutualism.