Dung

Definition

The excrement of mammals and other vertebrates; a nutrient-rich organic substrate that supports specialized food webs, decomposition pathways, and distinct arthropod communities. In entomology, dung serves as food, breeding medium, or microhabitat for numerous taxa, including scarab beetles (Scarabaeinae), dung flies (Sphaeroceridae, Muscidae), and certain rove beetles (Staphylinidae).

Etymology

From Middle English dung, Old English dung, of Germanic origin; cognate with German Dung.

Example

African dung beetles (Scarabaeus and Kheper species) locate fresh elephant dung by detecting volatile compounds, then excavate tunnels beneath the pat to bury brood balls that provision their larvae.

Synonyms

• Feces
• excrement
• scat

Related Terms

• Coprophagy
• scatophagy
• Detritivore
• saprophagy
• dung beetle
• nutrient cycling
• decomposition
• microhabitat

Usage Notes

In ecological and entomological contexts, 'dung' typically implies herbivore or omnivore feces with relatively high organic content and moisture, as opposed to the drier, more nitrogen-concentrated pellets of carnivores. Specialists distinguish fresh dung (attractive to many beetles and flies) from aged or weathered dung (colonized by different successional communities). The term carries no rank implication; it is strictly a substrate descriptor.