The animals that live under the rocks are fascinating.
This post will give you an overview of common rock-dwelling animals, including lizards, frogs, salamanders and more!
Animals that live under rocks
Below we have compiled this list of some of the most common animals that live under rocks.
Snakes are reptiles that spend most of their lives on land, in water, or even in trees.
Snakes have many adaptations to help them survive in their habitat, such as scales that protect them from injury.
Snakes often curl up and hide under rocks to protect themselves.
oak frog | photo by Judy Gallagher via Flickr | CC FOR 2.0
Frogs are marine animals, but they have rough and bumpy skin unlike frogs.
They can be found in a variety of habitats, from tropical forests to deserts, but prefer moist areas such as leaf litter or under rocks.
Most frogs are carnivorous, eating insects and other invertebrates although some are large enough to eat small vertebrates such as fish, lizards, and other frogs and toads.
Image by InspiredImages from Pixabay
Toads are a type of frog, but frogs are different in many ways.
Frogs have wet skin and most often live in or fresh water.
Although both can be found under rocks to get out of the heat and hide from predators.
Frogs are amphibians, meaning they can live on land or in water.
brown anole | Photo by Jody Davis from Pixabay
Lizards are cold-blooded reptiles, which means their body temperature depends on the environment around them.
Most lizards can be found in various habitats such as deserts, grasslands, forests, and swamps.
Lizards also burrow under rocks to escape predators or when bad weather or danger approaches.
Salamanders are amphibians, meaning they have moist skin and spend part of their lives on land and part in water.
Although salamanders are very similar to lizards, they are different in many ways.
One of the similarities between these animals is that they can all be found hiding under rocks!
Some salamanders live most of their adult lives on land and are considered semi-aquatic, while others spend their lives in water and are considered semi-aquatic.
Newts are amphibians and are found around ponds, streams and lakes but are usually terrestrial animals.
They eat insects and sometimes small vertebrates.
They are cold-blooded reptiles and like the other animals on this list, they are often found living under rocks.
Newts have dry skin unlike salamanders whose skin is wet, and unlike lizards they do not have scales.
Carolina wolf spider | photo by Fritz Flohr Reynolds via Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0
Some spiders spend most of their time on the ground and live under rocks and other objects on the forest floor.
Centipede on a wet log | photo by Katja Schulz via Flickr | CC FOR 2.0
Millipede and centipede are both arthropods, but they have many differences.
Actually, spiders don’t have 1,000 legs but many species can have 400 or more.
Centipedes usually have fewer legs than millipedes, but not necessarily 100 legs.
They have one pair of legs per body part, and the number of centipede body parts depends on the species.
Both millipedes and centipedes are disintegrators and can be found in gardens or under rocks.
Photo by Natfot from Pixabay
Like centipedes and millipedes, worms are also pests.
They play an important role in the life cycle on Earth by eating the remains of dead organisms, breaking them down into simpler compounds and then releasing them back into the soil for plants to use as nutrients.
Worms live in the ground and are usually seen looking under rocks.
bugs | Image by Lubos Houska from Pixabay
Beetles and other types of insects are also commonly found sheltering under rocks.
Look closely to see what kind of animals might be living under it.
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Eat Rocks?
Yes, many common animals eat rocks as part of their diet.
Because the stones in their stomach help digest food and the digestive process.
However, Lithoredo abatanica is the only known animal that eats rocks as part of its diet, not to aid digestion.
You read it right.
Scientists have discovered a type of worm that feeds on rocks.
And unlike that, other animals use stone for other purposes.
Surely you have heard of crocodiles eating stones; that is because they have been known to eat gravel for centuries.
But like crocodiles, many animals do the same thing.
So, here we have come up with a list of animals that eat rocks.
Gastroliths or stomach stones are any kind of stones in the stomach of an animal that are kicked or formed by the animals themselves.
And the stones that are swallowed by animals are called Geo-Gastroliths.
Many modern creatures and animals have gastroliths, such as alligators, crocodiles, birds, seals, sea lions, and many others.
So, without further ado, let’s go through the list of 20+ animals that eat or use rocks.
20+ Animals that Eat Rocks or Stones 1) Lithoredo abatanica 2) Crocodiles 3) Seals 4) Frogs 5) Sea Lions 6) American Alligators 7) Chickens 8) Worms 9) Crows 10) Parrot Fish 11) Ducks 12) Betta Fish 13) Whales 14) Ostriches 16 Pengu Fish 16 Goldfish 16 Goldfish 16 Horned Fish 15 ) Turkey Fairy Fish. 0 ) Giant Lizards
20+ Animals That Eat Rocks or Stones
Let’s start the list of rock eaters with Lithoredo abatanica.
Lithoredo is the only animal that grinds stones and lives among them.
It has large shovel-like projections on its shell that help it dig into the rock it feeds on.
Livestock produced by these worms becomes a habitat for other river creatures, including crabs and fish.
Scientific Name: Lithoredo abatanica
Location: Abatan River System on Bohol Island, Philippines
Crocodiles have been known to eat rocks since ancient times.
For a long time, researchers thought that crocodiles accidentally swallow stones with food.
Another thing emerged that crocodiles need stones for better digestion, like birds.
However, the main reason crocodiles eat rocks is to protect themselves from predators.
Enough stones add to their overall weight and help them sink into the water.
Scientific Name: Crocodylidae
Location: tropical areas of Africa, Asia, Australia and America
Seals are another animal that eats rocks and stones, but the reason is different here.
Like other marine animals, seals feed mainly on crabs and lobsters, and it is very difficult to digest their hard shells.
Therefore, to grind hard shells and other prey, they use rocks or stones.
Scientific name: Pinnipedia
Location: Arctic and Antarctic waters
As we know, frogs cannot chew; they directly swallow their prey whole.
Like frogs, most amphibians swallow their food whole, so they sometimes need help in the digestion process.
That’s why frogs eat small rocks or stones to digest prey in their stomachs.
In this way, the process of their digestion becomes easier.
In this way, they can easily use and vomit stones.
Scientific name: Anura
Animal Type: Amphibian
Location: banks near ponds and rivers
Another marine animal that eats rocks is the sea lion.
Many researchers found that the stomach of sea lions often contains stones known as stomach stones or gastroliths, which they swallow on purpose for many reasons.
The primary purpose is to aid in their digestion and crush parasites.
Not only that, these stones help the abdominal muscles from various fish bones, scales, shells and lips.
Also, the stones in the belly help them dive deeper into the ocean and improve their stability and control.
Scientific Name: Otariinae
Animal Type: Mammal
Animal Type: Mammal
Location: Japan and Korea, western North America
Like alligators, American Alligators also deliberately swallow rocks.
In addition, they use gastroliths to help the digestion process, including mammals and fish.
In short, rocks are important in their diet.
Scientific Name: Alligator mississippiensis
Animal Type: Reptile
Animal Type: Reptile
Location: United States
Chicken is a common animal that regularly eats stones.
They eat small rocks called grits to help them digest food in their gizzards.
Chickens are scavengers, and they need gravel to digest their food.
Scientific Name: Gallus gallus domesticus
It’s time to add another bug to the list, that’s the Earthworm.
Worms eat rock, not for nutrients but to digest things like krill and plant fiber in the digestive system.
They have no teeth, so they crush small stones with their strong muscles so they can swallow them.
Scientific name: Lumbricina
Animal Type: Insect
Like other birds, crows also regularly eat rocks and stones.
They swallow small sharp stones and store them in their tentacles which help break down tough prey.
Crows are omnivores and eat almost anything living.
Also, we know birds don’t have teeth, so it’s normal for them to swallow stones and help the gizzard do its job.
As soon as the swallowed stones lose their sharpness, the crow vomits and looks for another sharp stone.
Scientific name: Corvus
Let’s add fish to the list.
Parrotfish are known for their amazing teeth that can even crush and eat rocks.
Basically, they are herbivores and often eat algae that grow on rocks.
Parrotfish do not intentionally eat rocks as part of their diet.
They don’t have hands like us, so when they try to eat algae, they can swallow rocks too.
Scientific name: Scaridae
Location: tropical and oceanic parts of the world
Like other birds, ducks also swallow stones, sand gravel and small pebbles to digest their food and aid in the digestion process.
Sometimes, they swallow a large number of small stones to support their gizzards from fish bones and scales.
Stomach stones are very good for digestion, and use nutrients more efficiently from their food.
Scientific name: Anatidae
Location: Worldwide
Location: Worldwide
Location: Worldwide
Location: Worldwide
Here comes the aquarium fish on the list.
Betta fish are known to swallow gravel from the bottom of the aquarium.
Fish have no hands, so they accidentally swallow small gravel with their food.
Betta Fish often break the rock into small particles and remove it.
Scientific Name: Betta splendens
Location: Southeast Asia
Whales are large animals that eat rocks but do not intentionally swallow them.
They use rocks unknowingly in the feeding process.
But among them, toothed whales use stones to grind their tough prey.
We know that whales swallow everything whole, and preserved stones aid digestion in breaking down bones, shells, and hard shells.
Scientific name: Cetacea
Location: all major oceans of the world
Like chickens, ostriches also eat small stones to aid digestion.
Ostriches have a large mouth, so they directly consume nuts and hard seeds, so to grind them, they only use small stones and sharp edges.
Also, the Ostrich’s gizzard is so strong that it can handle sharp stones.
Scientific name: Struthio camelus
Location: East Africa
Like most fish, Cichlids also eat small gravel and sand.
The primary purpose is that small gravel and sand contain particles that aid digestion.
Cichlids directly swallow their food.
That’s why they need stomach stones to digest.
It is recommended to use gravel such as crushed coral, coral sand, crushed oyster shells, aragonite, or dolomite in your aquarium for Cichlids.
Scientific name: Cichlidae
Location: Africa and South America
Another bird on our list of rock eaters is the turkey.
Like Ostriches, Turkeys also swallow sharp stones that help them grind hard nut shells and seeds in their gizzards.
Don’t worry; Their gizzard is a hard muscle and part of the digestive tract.
Also, when stones lose their edge, turkeys vomit and look for more.
Scientific name: Meleagris
Location: North America
Goldfish are not like other fish.
Therefore, in search of scraps, goldfish spawn at the bottom of the tank, and unfortunately easily swallow small stones.
But when they realized that it was not food, they spat out stones.
They do not need small gravel to aid digestion; that is why it is important for them to spit small rocks; otherwise, it will be a problem for them.
Scientific name: Carassius auratus
Animal Type: Fish
Animal Type: Fish
Animal Type: Fish
Animal Type: Fish
Animal Type: Fish
Location: Native to East Asia
Parrots are birds that eat stones on purpose.
Parrots eat different types of food depending on their habitat.
Therefore, sometimes they need to swallow small gravel to help their digestion process.
These small, sharp pebbles act like teeth on their shovel, which break the hard shells of seeds, nuts, and fruits.
And like other birds, parrots vomit gravel when they lose their feathers.
To find out more about what to feed birds in winter, visit here.
Scientific Name: Psittaciformes
Location: warm climates around the world
They usually swallow small rocks for many purposes.
One of the most important reasons is to help their digestion process.
These rocks help them digest hard-shelled foods like crustaceans by grinding them into simpler pieces.
Also, it is estimated that stones help penguins slow down when diving; however, it is not deleted.
Scientific name: Spheniscidae
Animal Type: Bird
Animal Type: Bird
Animal Type: Bird
Animal Type: Bird
Animal Type: Bird
Animal Type: Bird
Animal Type: Bird
Location: Southern Hemisphere
Let’s finish this list by mentioning the names of large stone-eating lizards.
Like crocodiles, they swallow small stones whole to help digest their food.
And after that, you will vomit out, and these stomach stones are known as gastroliths.
Many animals use rocks and stones to aid in the digestion process, which helps them break down hard substances.
Among them, Lithoredo abatanica is the only species that feeds on rocks and lives among them.
Here we end our article about “animals that eat stones.” We hope you like the post.
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At the same time, he likes to research and learn about different types of colorful animals.