Saprotroph (also saprobe) is an organism that obtains its nutrients from non-living organic matter, usually dead and decaying plant or animal matter, by absorbing soluble organic compounds.
They include most fungi (the rest being parasites), many bacteria and protozoa; animals such as dung beetles and vultures; and a few unusual plants ("saprophytes"), including several orchids.
Saprotrophs cannot make food for themselves, so they are a type of heterotroph. They are useful scavengers, and in sewage farms and refuse dumps break down organic matter into nutrients easily assimilable by green plants.
