Male Bats Pee in a Pad
A partially ground-dwelling New Zealand bat breeds in competitive group and uses urine to attract the attention of females.
An unusual bat attracts females with urine
The Lesser Short-tailed bat is one of only two bat species found in New Zealand. It is already known for several unusual characteristics among bats, including the fact that it can walk, it can sing and it has evolved without predators.
But a new study by Cory Toth, a Canadian PhD candidate in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, has found that the Lesser Short-tailed bat has a few more surprises for scientists.
It is one of only two bats in the world that use a lek breeding system - males aggregate close to groups of females for the purpose of sexual display. In this case, they gather in roosts in trees, but do so in a time-share capacity - one moves in as another moves out. But the bats also cover themselves in their own urine, as a way of attracting female attention.
Related Links
- Paper in Behavioural Ecology
- University of Auckland release
- New Zealand Herald article