WCS 3-Sentence Science

A First for a Bat Species

December 26, 2019

CREDIT: TTU/NATHAN FULLER

Each year, Wildlife Conservation Society scientists publish more than 300 peer-reviewed studies and papers. “WCS 3-Sentence Science” is a regular tip-sheet — in bite sized helpings — of some of this published work.

Here we present work by WCS’s Sarah Olson and Kirk Silas on an unusual deformit in an individual of the Townsend’s big-eared bat.

1. Scientists report a case of diphallia — or penile duplication — in a bat, Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus totonsendii), captured during fall swarming at a hibernaculum in northern Utah, USA.
2. Upon examination, they determined that one phallus was functional, as evidenced by production of urine, while the secondary phallus appeared to be overgrown with skin.
3. Researchers hypothesize that this morphological deformity likely has a low impact on the survival of this individual but may act as a physical barrier to copulation.

Study and Journal: “First reported case of diphallia in Corynorhinus townsendii” from Western North American Naturalist
WCS Co-Author(s): Sarah Olson, WCS Associate Director of Wildlife Epidemiology; Kirk Silas, Wildlife Conservation Society

For more information, contact: Stephen Sautner, 718–220–3682, ssautner@wcs.org.