Colugos - Characteristics, Flightskin, Behavior, Reproduction, Threats To Colugos
cynocephalus lemur neck tail
A colugo is a furry mammal with a thin neck, a slender body, and large eyes. It is about the size of an average house cat, measuring between 15-16.5 in (38-42 cm) long with a tail adding another 8-10 in (20-25 cm). Also known as a flying lemur, the colugo neither truly flies nor is it a lemur. A gliding mammal, it is able to give the appearance of flight with the help of a membrane that stretches completely around its body starting behind its ears, going down its neck to its wrists and ankles, and ending at the tip of its tail. Colugos have characteristics of lemurs, bats, prosimians, and insectivores; recent studies suggest that their closest relatives are primates.
Because of its varying characteristics, colugos have been classified in their own order, the order Dermoptera. Belonging to the Cynocephalidae family, the only two species of colugo are the Malayan or Temminck colugo (Cynocephalus temminckii) and the Philippine colugo (Cynocephalus volans). Colugos inhabit the rainforests and rubber plantations in Southeast Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, Java, Borneo, Vietnam, Kampuchea, and the Philippines.
Additional Topics
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 t…
Colugos have never lived more than a few months in captivity; thus, there is only limited knowledge of their behavior. One fact that is known is that they are strict vegetarians. Specifically, they feed on shoots, fruit, buds, young seed pods, and flowers from multiple kinds of forest trees. They pull the vegetation out of trees using their very powerful tongues. Colugos get their water by licking…
Colugos of the Philippines generally mate in February, although the mating behavior of colugos throughout Southeast Asia can occur from January to March. After a two month pregnancy, the female gives birth to a single offspring. (Although, on rare occasions, colugo females have twins.) Interestingly, because females cannot nurse more than one young at a time, they have the ability to give birth in…
The main natural predator of the colugo is the Philippine monkey-eating eagle, which eats colugos almost to the exclusion of all other types of food. Humans also pose a significant threat to these animals. People operating rubber and coconut plantations often shoot colugos because they view them as pests. Furthermore, colugos are hunted for their meat. Most importantly, colugo habitats are continu…
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments
11 months ago
im gay