Detritivores should be distinguished from other decomposers, such as many species of bacteria, fungi and protists, which are unable to ingest discrete lumps of matter.
They can live on any type of soil with an organic component, including marine ecosystems, where they are termed interchangeably with bottom feeders.
Typical detritivorous animals include millipedes, springtails, woodlice, dung flies, slugs, many terrestrial worms, sea stars, sea cucumbers, fiddler crabs, and some sedentary marine Polychaetes such as worms of the family Terebellidae.
Detritivores play an important role as recyclers in the ecosystem's energy flow and biogeochemical cycles.
These organisms play a crucial role in benthic ecosystems, forming essential food chains and participating in the nitrogen cycle.
[9] By feeding on sediments directly to extract the organic component, some detritivores incidentally concentrate toxic pollutants.