![]() | This is the talk page of a redirect that targets the page: • Apex predator Because this page is not frequently watched, present and future discussions, edit requests and requested moves should take place at: • Talk:Apex predator |
![]() | This article was nominated for deletion on 3 June 2008. The result of the discussion was keep. |
![]() | This redirect does not require a rating on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||
|
Why isnt it listed as an apex predator? By definition an apex predator is an animal that 1. Kills and consumes prey. 2. Is not hunted regulary by another animal. Spinosaurus was a giant | Spinosaurid. who are believed to be oppurtunistic Theropods who hunted fish, Dinosaurs and ate carrion. So Spinosaurus fills the first point. Was Spinosaurus regulary hunted? Only Theropods with the size to do so, Bahariasaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. Bahariasaurus was an omnivore, Carcharodontsaurus was a fair bit smaller than Spinosaurus, and specialised in hunting Sauropods. Enough Said, Spinosaurus was an apex predator. Ill change the page to match. Spinodontosaurus (talk) 21:08, 26 April 2010 (UTC)
Randy Orton WWE —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.35.170.14 (talk) 13:02, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
I just can't agree with this reasoning of putting an asterisk next to "human". If some *other* species had introduced *itself* into a new habitat (something that, arguably, *all* the animals on this list did in one way or another - and some did via migration, just like humans) there would be no asterisk. So, biologically speaking, in terms of understanding the world, it's just incorrect. It may have some utility for conservation practice and understandng the effect of our unique sepcies on the rest of the system however, I can buy that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.176.22 (talk) 03:29, 6 June 2010 (UTC)
As a matter of field observation fact, the list of the supposedly apex predators (i.e. the species which is NOT hunted upon in a healthy adult state) needs drastic shrinkage or at east serious commenting. Because right now it contains huge amount of mistakes. True apex predators are very rare creatures and for instance on land there are only several species of the mightiest of biggest of them. The status of apex predator has NOTHING to do with a creature like African Wild Dog - it is hunted upon by lions on a regular basis, or a chimpanzee - it is a regular target for a leopard with up to 70% of adult deaths caused by this cat in certain areas. If you mean that those creatures are apex predators in a zoo when they are given a rabbit for a play - that's another story, but you have to mention the fact that in a normal natural ecosystem they are not immune to attacks from another predator species. Even the biggest cats or bears are not apex predators in the areas where the two co-exist (Russian Far East with population of both the biggest tiger and one of the biggest brown bear subspecies). I can only imagine that in the natural state it is only the polar bear, the lion and big crocodilians are truly apex predators. In remoted areas like an island or an Ethiopian hillside other species can abtain such a status like polar fox or Ethiopian wolf. But it is a total absurd to claim that a cheetah, or chakma baboon or a bob-cat can be regarded as apex predator.
Verify the list! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.110.6.20 (talk) 16:59, 25 June 2010 (UTC)
I know this is painfully obvious to any who reads this, but near the line where it describes apex predators as those whose healthy adults are not preyed upon, shouldn't it mention that some of these animals are preyed upon by humans, even as healthy adults? Also,there are various other exceptions in which a healthy animal may be hunted and still considered to be an apex predator. I just think the article would make it a bit more accurate, because the way it reads right now sounds like these animals are never hunted under any condition (barring the noted environmental condition). —Potatman (talk) 21:03, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
![]() | This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. |
Please add Lyvyatan Melvillei to the list of extinct apex predators. It absolutely deserves to be on this list, seeing as how it has the largest bite in tetrapod history so far and would have come in direct contact with C. Megalodon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livyatan_melvillei 74.15.204.92 (talk) 03:22, 1 September 2011 (UTC)
Snakes, as far as I know, are always shy and timid and scared. Is there a reason some are listed as Apex Predators? Is it because they aren't hunted on by a species in their specific environment? I mean, most snakes (or all?) act like they are potential prey and huntable. Doesn't that count? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.245.229.247 (talk) 06:25, 8 October 2011 (UTC)
![]() | This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. |
Randy Orton Cory975 (talk) 05:49, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
1. Why is Dunkleosteus listed under dinosaurs that were apex predators. Dunkleosteus was a placoderm, a fish. It was not a dinosaur! It should be moved to the section listing other, non-dinosaurian apex predators. Come to think of it, why do dinosaurs get their own category instead of being lumped together with the other prehistoric predators, some of which were more closely related to dinosaurs than to other creatures on the same list. 2. As possibly the largest terrestrial mammalian carnivore in history, Andrewsarchus needs to be on this list. I know it is thought by some to be a scavenger, but so are some of the other creatures on this list, such as Tyrannosaurus. In fact, few prehistoric carnivores have been confirmed one way or the other to be scavengers or active hunters. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dinolover45 (talk • contribs) 18:12, 10 October 2012 (UTC)
I don't think the Segisaurus have his place in the list of Apex predators. It was insectivore or scavenger, and was just one meter long. So the Segisaurus is NOT an apex predator. 16:30, by a Wikipedia contributor. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.21.187.76 (talk) 20:31, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
Does that mean I have to remove Compsognathus from the list as well? --PCAwesomeness (talk) 16:42, 1 February 2015 (UTC)
How is the African wild dog an apex predator, when other predators regularly attack it and steal its kills? 71.205.174.204 (talk) 18:29, 22 December 2012 (UTC)
Most information in this article is incorrect - if an animal constantly appears in the diet of another predator as proven by research studies (e.g. many Asian bear species are part of different tiger subspecies' diets), they are not an apex predator. This article is unsourced and expect tons of misinformation. I am going to improve it when I have time. BigCat82 (talk) 22:33, 4 October 2014 (UTC)
Only Ussuri brown bears are partial prey items for non-human predators, and it only make up less than 10% of Amur tiger's diet, all other subspecies are apex predators, with humans being the only predator on healthy adults, if any predation is included, then there is no such thing as apex predator, as all predators are at least very partially preyed on, in this article, apex predator is a predator that does not have regular predators, Amur tigers occasionally prey on only 1 subspecies of brown bear, doesn't count as brown bears be regular prey animals. Editor abcdef (talk) 06:34, 9 March 2015 (UTC)
I saw that a bureaucrat had removed Anomalocaris, Hainosaurus, Mosasaurus, and Prognathodon from the list of apex predators. TBH, I'm not sure about the others, but many sources do confirm that Mosasaurus was indeed an apex predator. It even says here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosasaur#Paleobiology
--PCAwesomeness (talk) 16:50, 1 February 2015 (UTC)
This list has serious issues. Some of the extant species are plain wrong, for instance the Tiger quoll isn't an apex anything, the article is contradictory and in parts factually incorrect. Where an animal is an apex predator solely due to human habitat destruction, for instance the Coyote or the various jackel species, it should be stated as such. To the uninformed this article could be very misleading.
I propose the extant terrestrial species be split to clarify true apex species from those that have filled a man-created void.
Cavalryman V31 (talk) 06:19, 2 May 2015 (UTC)
But in much of the world, the only animals that are top predators are thus humans and dogs. Human and canine range include places where there are crocodilians, giant snakes, bears, and Big Cats that could kill them as prey. But this said, a large dog itself has much in common in its abilities with bears and Big Cats; some dogs leave little doubt that except for good behavior that they are potential man-eaters. Domestication has not made the dog less imposing as a predator; it has simply made dogs more predictable than wild animals, some similarly competent as predators.
A pack of dogs, by mass, is potentially as lethal as a bear or Big Cat. Having encountered four dogs weighing about eighty pounds each (I forget the breed -- they could have been Dobermans or Rottweilers) at a house with no other occupants at that hour, the dogs charged a door with a flimsy latch. I have never been so scared in my life. I was doing Census work, but those dogs must have confused me with a burglar. If the latch broke, I could have been killed. Those four dogs might as well have been a bear or a tiger, so far as I was concerned, but even more dangerous because dogs know our vulnerabilities as bears and Big Cats don't.
The elimination of animals that compete with humans and dogs as predators is no recent phenomenon. But a human-organized pack of dogs can tree a bear or a leopard, animals that would pick off a dog in single contest. Note well also that a dog pack can include a human that coordinates the behavior of dogs such as pointers, setters, and retrievers that don't ordinarily kill another animal, but aid humans in flushing or recovering prey that might not succumb to other predators so easily.
There are many locations in which the only two large predators are dogs and humans, and that this is a long-standing reality. It is not always clear whether the dog or the human is the apex predator in such places.Pbrower2a (talk) 12:55, 17 October 2017 (UTC)
hello, i think hyenas and wild dogs shouldn't be on the list because big cats sometimes eat them. TheFeralCat (talk) 18:20, 6 August 2015 (UTC)
as some know, i removed hyenas from the list. just to say, don't think i hate hyenas, they are actually my second favourite animal. and i found proof. not only are they mostly scavengers, but i found these pictures. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=lion+killing+hyena&safe=active&biw=1366&bih=659&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMI7_24_-_DxwIViCPbCh0ayAnd&dpr=1 TheFeralCat (talk) 09:03, 25 August 2015 (UTC)
Honestly, I could look at the dinosaur apex predator section, and it seems like they could just put in any predatory dinosaur they could find, while the non-dinosaurian extinct apex predator section is much more sensical and organized. Can someone do a cleanup on this page?
PCAwesomeness (talk) 02:21, 8 October 2015 (UTC)
Hi. The snake is not an apex predator, as a lot of predators eat it:
i found some pictures of lions and a leopard eating hyenas, none of a cheetah yet. Unfortunately i don't know how to put them on here. For evidence i can show you, search "lion eating hyena". TheFeralCat (talk) 09:15, 28 October 2015 (UTC)
Fishes like Tuna and white sturgeon are eaten as food by humans. They are hunted right? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.5.51.165 (talk) 17:27, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
Fishing other than catch-and-release is predation. Humans in boats are generally safe from practically any predator. The most likely exception is tigers which in some places have been known to board boats. Whether tigers are after the catch or the catchers is in question. It's probably easier and safer for the tiger to take some fish and swim away with a meal rather than risk human retribution.Pbrower2a (talk) 16:44, 6 August 2018 (UTC)
Let's discuss about the wolverine's status as a predator and possibly as an apex predator. The wolverine's only true threat are wolf packs and the brown bear. But one-on-one a wolverine could defeat a wolf in possibly most cases. We're talking about a full adult (male) wolverine and wolf here. A lone wolf against a wolverine can only bite the wolverine, and behind that bite of course is the wolf's big head and neck muscles also. The wolf of course has a relatively large mouth and is larger than the wolverine (but some wolverines can attain large mass). But the wolverine is feistier and more energetic than a wolf simply because it's designed to run at short distances versus wolves which are designed for long distance running. The wolverine shares this trait with the cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, and jaguars. Furthermore, the bite of the wolverine is also very strong. Lastly, the wolverine can use its claws, so even if the wolf were to bit the wolverine's head or neck (thus preventing the wolverine from effectively using its teeth), the wolverine can still do serious damage to the wolf's eyes which are vulnerable. The wolverine's claws can do damage to other parts of the wolf's face and body as well. In an in-close fight, I don't know if a single wolf can handle the intensity that a wolverine can bring upon, and the wolf is thinking about preserving itself also. The wolf can't really use it's feet (in particular its two front paws) as a direct weapon on the wolverine, they're simply not designed that way, as they're used to stand the wolf up. The wolverine can also fight on its back (on the ground or hanging onto the wolf's face). The wolverine can fight in any orientation for that matter. The wolf must fight in one orientation only (or prefers to fight in one orientation), and that's standing up. Don't get me wrong, an individual wolf is a powerful animal. But the wolf works best chasing down animals and tiring that animal out. The wolf does not really want to attack an animal that's full of energy especially a large animal such as a deer, elk, or moose. The wolf's strategy is to scare it and get it running thus exhausting the prey's energy. The wolf's second strategy is to take down the prey animal, and most of these prey animal's when brought down can no longer effectively fight back or get up especially if it's exhausted. Most prey animals such as deer, elk, or moose aren't simply designed to fight when they're on the ground. But the wolverine, as mentioned earlier, can fight with it's back on the ground or in any orientation on the ground (or off the ground), and this is something the wolf is not normally accustomed to, and perhaps simply not designed effectively to deal with. But a pack a wolves could take on a wolverine, and this is the argument used as to why wolverines can't be apex predators. But a wolverine could take on an individual wolf, but I never heard of a wolverine eating or predating on a wolf. Usually wolverine and wolf encounters result due one fending off the other from a kill. Brown bears are probably the only threat for a wolverine in a one-on-one situation. But how often do these two animals encounter one another, and how often does the brown bear predate on the wolverine? Does the brown bear actively hunt for wolverines, or would it prefer something easier to catch with a lot more meat? Again this is meant to start a discussion. Aamma58 (talk) 05:19, 25 July 2018 (UTC)Aamma58
Where are all the citations? Every entry requires a citation to a reliable source.
This has been posted at the head of the article since 2007, frankly a disgraceful and embarrassing record.
It's time this mess was cleared up. Chiswick Chap (talk) 21:56, 8 September 2018 (UTC)
Anyone think that the Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) deserves to be on this list? It's only true threat are tigers, but I've never heard of tigers predating or attacking them, or it's very rare.Aamma58 (talk) 01:52, 9 September 2018 (UTC)Aamma58
I have updated the list with new citations, so that what is here is reliably sourced and verifiable. In other words, it now complies with WP:V and WP:RS, and steers clear of WP:OR. On the bigger question of whether such a list can be defined - is there any sense in which it can be complete, rather than a permanently incomplete and probably unrepresentative sample of a very large set of species out there, I will not speak now. What I am quite certain of is that an uncited list is unacceptable by Wikipedia policy. Chiswick Chap (talk) 12:24, 16 September 2018 (UTC)
An apex predator is a predator that is the largest predator somewhere in its native range meaning it has no natural predators that is the criteria 2601:405:4A80:4700:C563:ABC4:E374:3DDF (talk) 14:56, 17 January 2019 (UTC)