It sounds like something out of a filthy fairy tale: the mountain tree shrew visits certain species of pitcher plant to grab a bite of nectar, and poop into the plant’s commode-shaped cup. These plants appear to have evolved so that their openings fit perfectly under the tree shrew’s behind, and they’re sturdy enough to support the animal’s weight.
It’s a crappy relationship, in the sense that the pitcher plant is actually crapped on — but the pitcher plant gets nutrients out of the deal by extracting them from the shrew’s feces. “Everything that led up to that is amazing,” says Ethan Kocak, illustrator of the new book True or Poo? The Definitive Field Guide to Filthy Animal Facts and Falsehoods. The book, which hits shelves in the US on...
