Old World fruit bats can be long-distance seed dispersers through extendedretention of viable seeds in the gut

Seed dispersal and pollination by animals play a crucial role in the mainte nance of forest ecosystems worldwide. Frugivorous bats are important pollen and seed dispersers in both the Palaeo- and Neotropics, and at least 300 p lant species are known to rely on Old World fruit bats (Megachiroptera, Pte ropodidae) for their propagation. However, rapid food transit times (genera lly less than 30 minutes) in frugivorous bats have been thought to limit th eir ability to disperse seeds to just a few tens of kilometres. Here we dem onstrate regular daytime (>12 hours) retention of food and viable fig seeds (Ficus, Moraceae) in the gut of the Old World fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx : a behaviour not previously reported for any frugivorous bat. Field observ ations indicate that this behaviour also occurs in other genera. Old World fruit bats are highly mobile and many species undertake considerable foragi ng and migration flights. Our findings indicate that Old World fruit bats h ave the potential to disperse small seeds hundreds of kilometres. This nece ssitates a reappraisal of their importance in transporting zoochorous seeds to remote areas and facilitating gene flow between isolated populations of plants, both within mainlands and across ocean barriers.