Colugos look one thing like a cross between a bug-eyed pug, a flying fox, and a squirrel. However appearances could be deceiving. These mammals that glide the forests of Southeast Asia occupy a definite department of evolution, distantly associated to primates.
Additionally referred to as flying lemurs – although this can be a little bit of a misnomer as they will’t fly and aren’t lemurs – these quirky-looking creatures reside by evening within the tropical forests of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.
Is the Colugo A Bat or a Monkey?
Sunda colugo (Credit score: Joshua Davenport/Shutterstock)
Strictly talking, colugos aren’t precisely monkeys and should not bats, regardless of the look of their pores and skin and the truth that they’re nocturnal. Their webbed toes even have a flying-fox look to them.
The similarity to bats and flying foxes stops there, nonetheless. Colugos could also be extra intently associated to monkeys, however genetic analysis has proven that they’re a sister group to dwelling primates. They sit within the evolutionary department generally known as Primatomorpha and belong to the order Dermoptera. Among the oldest recognized Dermoptera date again to the Eocene Epoch of Thailand.
There are solely two forms of colugos on this planet at present: the Sunda or Malayan colugo, and the Philippine colugo. Neither are from the identical genus, however each are generally generally known as the Sunda and Philippine flying lemur.
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Colugos Glide To Get Round
A flying lemur, or Colugo, jumps from a tree (Credit score: Lauren Suryanata/Shutterstock)
Colugos can’t fly. As a substitute, they glide by way of the forest utilizing a skinny gliding membrane that covers their our bodies – often known as a patagium. This membrane stretches from their neck all the way down to the 2 sides of their tail, trying a little bit like a human in a wingsuit after they stretch it out and set sail on the winds.
They’re proficient gliders, nonetheless, with Malayan colugos reaching an estimated distance of 150 meters. A research printed in 2008 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B on their gliding confirmed that they will cut back their horizontal velocity by as much as 60 p.c proper earlier than touchdown.
“This potential to modulate the forces performing on them earlier than impression permits the gliding animals to land safely after gliding lengthy distances,” the authors write.
The adaption in all probability permits the animal better entry to meals and nesting areas, in addition to an escape from predators. New moms additionally use their gliding membranes as a pouch to carry their newly born offspring.
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What Makes Colugos Distinctive?
Sunda flying lemur mother or father with child (plains-wanderer/Shutterstock)
Colugos weigh roughly as a lot as a chihuahua, although their eyes bulge out a little bit extra like a pug. They’re about so long as a home cat, or a little bit larger than a frisbee when their limbs are stretched out whereas gliding.
When not gliding, they appear to be a bat that sits on a tree trunk – not the other way up – or a squirrel with free additional pores and skin.
Sunda colugos are greyish brown in coloration, whereas Philippine colugos are often a little bit darker brown with shades of black.
Like squirrels, colugos principally survive on leaves, flowers, and fruit.
Colugos are comparatively widespread of their vary. The Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature classifies each species as “least concern,” although the Sunda colugo is lowering in numbers as a result of habitat loss and trapping.
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Joshua Rapp Be taught is an award-winning D.C.-based science author. An expat Albertan, he contributes to plenty of science publications like Nationwide Geographic, The New York Instances, The Guardian, New Scientist, Hakai, and others.