Colugos

Many animals inhabiting rainforests evolve special mechanisms to enable them to move easily among the trees; thus, they avoid exposing themselves to predators living on the ground. In the colugo's case, this has been accomplished by the development of a membrane surrounding almost all of its body. On each colugo, there are three separate sections of this "parachute-skin." In the first section (called the propatagium), the skin comes out of both sides of the colugo's neck, down its shoulders to completely attached to the entire span of its arm all the way to its fingertips. The second section (called the plagiopatagium) begins on their underside of the colugos' arms and spans its entire body, thus connecting the animal's front and rear legs. The final section of this skin (uropatagium) connects the hind legs to the tail on both sides all the way to its tip.

Interestingly, the colugo is the only mammal that has developed the rearmost uropatagium section of its flightskin. The tails of all of the other mammals with the capacity to glide—such as honey gliders and flying squirrels—are free of the membrane; thus, they use their tails as steering mechanisms.

Covered in hair on both sides, this "parachute-skin" enables these animals to glide long distances—reportedly up to 426 ft (130 m)—while losing very little altitude. Although colugos have strong claws with which to grip branches, they are not skilled climbers. In fact, colugos are almost helpless on the ground.