Coprophagy and urine consumption by male greater short-nosed fruit bats

A variety of animals perform coprophagy to obtain nutrients but so far coprophagy remains unreported in bats. Here, we describe the existence of coprophagy and urine consumption among male greater short-nosed fruit bats Cynopterus sphinx . Males usually deposited their excreta outside their tents, but engaged in coprophagy and/or urine consumption, on occasions when the excreta fell inside the tent. Each coprophagous bout consists of licking the excreta, followed by chewing with occasional vigorous shaking of the head. We suspect that the odour of the excreta might interfere with the male-specific chemosignals smeared on the tent. Therefore, we hypothesise that the removal of excreta from the tent is essential and the bats engage in coprophagy opportunistically. However, more studies are needed to understand the functions of coprophagy in greater short-nosed fruit bats.