Hunting and consumption of fruit-eating bats (Artibeus watsoni) by Cebus imitator in Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Hunting and consumption of fruit-eating bats (Artibeus watsoni) by Cebus imitator in Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, Costa Rica | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report Hunting and consumption of fruit-eating bats ( Artibeus watsoni ) by Cebus imitator in Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, Costa Rica Silenny Calderón-Montero, Óscar M. Chaves, Ignacio Barrantes-Jimenéz This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9373318/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Vertebrate hunting and meat-eating are documented behaviors in many non-human primates, yet the predation of bats by Neotropical primates remains rarely reported. This study provides the first detailed record of a wild capuchin monkey ( Cebus imitator ) hunting and consuming fruit-eating bats ( Artibeus watsoni ) in a forest fragment on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The events were observed in February 2026 at Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, and involve an adult male named "Tuko", a member of a well-habituated troop. While the rest of the troop foraged on anthropogenic food sources, "Tuko" was observed searching around the dry leaves of a screw pine ( Pandanus utilis ). The male successfully captured three bats, one of which escaped, and sequentially consumed the remaining two over a period of approximately 11 minutes. The predation process involved sophisticated handling: the capuchin used his hands and teeth to skin the prey, masticate soft tissues (abdomen and trunk), consume the patagium and fine wing bones, and discarded the carcass remains. These observations highlight the opportunistic and extractive foraging capabilities of C. imitator and suggest that bat hunting may be a specialized behavior restricted to specific individuals within a troop. Given the rarity of such records, this study underscores the importance of long-term monitoring to understand the dietary flexibility and ecological impact of vertebrate predation in generalist Neotropical primates. Animal Science Behavioral Ecology Animal Behavior meat-eating vertebrate predation Cebidae primate cognitive abilities feeding flexibility Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files FullCebusEatingArtibeus21Feb26Clear1.mp4 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9373318","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":620625519,"identity":"afa529fd-a9a8-406c-aed7-ca39ea4b1879","order_by":0,"name":"Silenny Calderón-Montero","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3430-7217","institution":"Encuadre Azul","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Silenny","middleName":"","lastName":"Calderón-Montero","suffix":""},{"id":620625573,"identity":"63472856-eca4-41cf-90ee-b36beaf24726","order_by":1,"name":"Óscar M. 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This study provides the first detailed record of a wild capuchin monkey (\u003cem\u003eCebus imitator\u003c/em\u003e) hunting and consuming fruit-eating bats (\u003cem\u003eArtibeus watsoni\u003c/em\u003e) in a forest fragment on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The events were observed in February 2026 at Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, and involve an adult male named \"Tuko\", a member of a well-habituated troop. While the rest of the troop foraged on anthropogenic food sources, \"Tuko\" was observed searching around the dry leaves of a screw pine (\u003cem\u003ePandanus utilis\u003c/em\u003e). The male successfully captured three bats, one of which escaped, and sequentially consumed the remaining two over a period of approximately 11 minutes. The predation process involved sophisticated handling: the capuchin used his hands and teeth to skin the prey, masticate soft tissues (abdomen and trunk), consume the patagium and fine wing bones, and discarded the carcass remains. 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