Animal latrine

Animals with communal latrines include raccoons, Eurasian badgers, elephants, horses, and (prehistorically) dicynodonts (a 240-million-year-old site was called the "world's oldest public toilet"). Some lizards, such as yakka skinks (Egernia rugosa) and thorny devils use dedicated defecation sites. European rabbits may deposit their pellets both randomly over the range and at communal latrine sites. ==Function and impact==

Territoriality Middens and other types of defecation sites may serve as territorial markers. which are thought to serve for confrontation avoidance. In contrast, female and young animals exhibit no such behavior. Dedicated latrine areas observed by free-roaming horses mean that grazing area is kept parasite-free. Even stabled horses seem to have vestiges of such behavior. Ecological impact Latrines of herbivores, such as antelopes, play an important role in ecology by providing enrichment of certain areas in nutrients. It is described that duiker and steenbok antelopes tended to defecate in exposed sites, generally on very sandy soil, while klipspringer preferred rocky outcrops, thus enriching the nutrient-deficient areas, as well as depositing plant seed there. ==Use in research==

In addition to immediate research of animal behavior and biology, animal toilets and coprolites are an instrument of research for not directly related purposes in biology, ecology, paleontology climate research, and other areas. They provide various information: plant habitats, historical information about prehistoric life and climate, etc. ==Animal latrine associates==

Some fungi are animal latrine associates. For example, Hebeloma radicosum is an ammonia fungus which associates with latrines of moles, wood mice, Some insects (e.g., termites and dung beetles) feed on animal excrement and hence are natural associates of dung sites. ==References==