How do Fungi and Animals "Eat"?

"Compare and contrast the ways that fungi 'eat' with the ways that animals digest, and absorb their food."


The ways that fungi and animals eat have many similarities and differences that make this an interesting topic.  I would like to start it off with a non-similarity though, which is that animals have a stomach and intestines inside the body which certainly aid in digestion.  Fungi rather do not have these assets.  They actually digest food outside the cell wall since they don't have the luxury of a stomach.

Mushrooms growing on a log

Now I'm going to mention a similarity that is quite intriguing, which is how even though animals and fungi are extremely different, they still share this ability to digest their food sources.  I find it weird (but kind of cool) that fungi and animals share this trait even though their body structures are so different!

Even the way that that they absorb food is somewhat similar!  What I mean by this is that fungi and animals are both heterotrophic (they can't make their own food through photosynthesis), so they have to absorb there own food from their surroundings.  They both break down the matter using digestive enzymes, and absorb the nutrients.  

These are the fascinating similarities and differences that I have found between these two classifications.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!