c

Comments: An individual that eats its own mother is a “gerontophage,” q.v. Cannibalism might have been widespread in Homo neanderthalensis (T. White in Gugliotta 1999, 1 October, A3). [Spanish Canibales, var. of Caribes, Caribs, a fierce nation of the West Indies reported to eat human flesh] ♦ cannibalism n. An animal’s being a cannibal, q.v. syn. metasitism (Lincoln et al. 1985) cf. -cide conism n. For example, in some duck, eagle, gull, hawk, jay, owl, shrike, stork, and tern species: A parent’s actual, or attempted, swallowing of its dead, or sickly, young (Welty 1975, 349; Schz 1957 in Campbell and Lack, 1985). syn. Kronismus (German) cf. cannibal; -cide: infanticide Comments: Immelmann and Beer (1989, 145) do not indicate that cronism involves dead, or sickly, young. Captive fish (e.g., Cichlids, Labyrinth Fish, and Livebearing Tooth Carps) commonly eat their young (Gilbert 1976, 145). Laboratory Gerbils also eat their own young, especially when their young are sick or when a person disturbs the gerbils too often (pers. obs.). Under disturbed conditions, mother Tree Shrews cannibalize their young (Immelmann 1977, 567). [term proposed by Schüz (1957) in Campbell and Lack (1985) after the Greek mythological Cronus, the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth), who swallowed his sons, except for Zeus, as they were born (Duckworth and Rose 1989)]

A queen’s consuming eggs of other queens and workers in her nest (Bourke 1991, 295). Note: This egg cannibalism appears to be part of reproductive conflict among queens and workers in this ant (Bourke 1991, 295).