Diet

Diet is a representation of what a creature can eat. In Spore, there are three diets: herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore.

A creature’s diet is determined by the type of mouth part it possesses—herbivorous, carnivorous, or omnivorous. For example, if a creature possesses a carnivorous mouth like the D’orca, it becomes a carnivore, while a herbivorous mouth will make it a herbivore, and an omnivorous mouth makes it an omnivore. Likewise, if a creature has both herbivorous and carnivorous mouths, it will make it an omnivore.

If a creature lacks a mouth entirely, it becomes “mouthless.” Mouthless creatures cannot be saved without using hacks or modifications.

Spore[]

Cell Stage[]

The type of mouth a cell possesses determines what food it can consume. For instance, a cell with a Filter Mouth or Proboscis cannot digest meat chunks. To eat meat, it must have a Jaw Mouth that allows it to bite.

Eating different types of food affects the evolution timeline meter, with an arrow showing the progress:

Consuming meat, prey, or drinking from other cells raises the meter toward the carnivore side.
Consuming plants lowers the meter toward the herbivore side.
Eating both types of food in balance shifts the meter toward the omnivore side.

Advancing to the next stage with one of these traits determines which mouths are available in the Creature Creator. Mouths that don’t match the assigned diet are locked. Each trait also grants special consequence abilities and gameplay benefits in later stages.

Creature Stage[]

If a creature starts with—or evolves from—a cell with a specific diet trait, then only mouths that match that diet remain available throughout the stage. Mouths tied to other diets are locked. Diet also affects how creatures interact with food: eating the correct food restores the hunger bar and some health, while eating the wrong food causes the creature to vomit, providing no nutrition.

Tribal Stage[]

The diet of a tribal species determines what food sources and abilities are available during the Tribal Stage. For example, herbivorous tribes gather seaweed at fishing spots but cannot collect meat, while carnivorous and omnivorous tribes fishes for fish instead.

Traits carried over from the Cell Stage also grant unique abilities that help each diet obtain food more efficiently. Herbivores gain Refreshing Storm, which causes fruit to regrow and drop from otherwise barren plants. Carnivores unlock Traps, which lure wild creatures before killing them and nearby animals, providing a steady supply of meat. Omnivores acquire Flying Fish, which summons the Sea Monster to drive fish onto shore for easy gathering.

Trivia[]

Another type of diet, not usually seen in-game, is the "starvivore" diet. The term "starvivore" is derived from Spore's game files referring to the starvivore: "cl_starvivore.prop.xml", "starvivore.prop.xml", "starvivoretemplate.prop.xml", "#DD41AEA5.prop.xml", and "#A007B1DB.prop.xml", and it is for creatures that lack the diet from the mouth and it is basically an alternative term for "Mouthless" which can be seen in-game.

To avoid confusion, the diet traits and creature's diet from mouth part doesn't correlate at all. The trait only affects the parts available in the in-game Creature Creator. For example, possessing Early Creature mouth part like Filter Mouth while having carnivore trait does not stopping the creature from being herbivore as long as it has Filter Mouth attached on.