colugo

Colugos are nocturnal, tree-dwelling mammals.

They reach lengths of {{cvt|35|to|40|cm}} and weigh {{cvt|1|to|2|kg}}.{{cite book |last1=Lim |first1=Norman |title=Colugo: The flying lemur of South-East Asia |date=2007 |publisher=Draco Publishing and Distribution Pte Ltd |location=Singapore}} They have long, slender front and rear limbs, a medium-length tail, and a relatively light build. The head is small, with large, front-focused eyes for excellent binocular vision, and small rounded ears.

The incisor teeth of colugos are highly distinctive; they are comb-like in shape with up to 20 tines on each tooth. The incisors are analogous in appearance and function to the incisor suite in strepsirrhines, which is used for grooming. The second upper incisors have two roots, another unique feature among mammals. The dental formula of colugos is: {{DentalFormula|upper=2.1.2.3|lower=3.1.2.3}}

File:EB1911 - Galeopithecus.jpg

Colugos are proficient gliders, and thought better adapted for flight than any other gliding mammal.

They can travel as far as {{cvt|70|m}} from one tree to another without losing much altitude,{{cite book |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Dawkins |title=The Ancestor's Tale |publisher=Phoenix |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7538-1996-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ancestorstalepil0000dawk }} with a Malayan colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) individual having been observed traveling about {{cvt|150|m}} in one glide.{{cite journal|last1=Byrnes |first1=G. |last2=Lim |first2=N.T. |last3=Spence |first3=A.J. |title=Take-off and landing kinetics of a free-ranging gliding mammal, the Malayan colugo (Galeopterus variegatus). |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |year=2008 |volume=275 |issue=1638 |pages=1007–13 |pmid=18252673 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2007.1684 |pmc=2600906}}

Their ability to glide is possible because of a large membrane of skin that extends between their paired limbs. This gliding membrane, or patagium, runs from the shoulder blades to the fore paws, from the tip of the rear-most fingers to the tip of the toes, and from the hind legs to the tip of the tail.{{cite book |editor-last=Macdonald |editor-first=D. |last=MacKinnon |first=Kathy |year=1984 |title=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Facts on File |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/446 446–447] |isbn=978-0-87196-871-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/446}} Colugos' gliding ability is aided by specialized muscles that control the tension and movement of the gliding membrane. The platysma myoides and platysma cervicale help adjust the patagium’s shape for better control during flight. The sternomastoideus and cleidomastoideus stabilize the head and neck, improving balance and maneuverability mid-air.{{Cite journal |last=Diogo |first=Rui |date=2009 |title=The head and neck muscles of the Philippine colugo (Dermoptera: Cynocephalus volans), with a comparison to tree-shrews, primates, and other mammals |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.10666 |journal=Journal of Morphology |language=en |volume=270 |issue=1 |pages=14–51 |doi=10.1002/jmor.10666 |issn=1097-4687}} The spaces between the colugo's fingers and toes are webbed. As a result, colugos were once considered to be close relatives of bats. Today, on account of genetic data, they are considered to be more closely related to primates.{{cite journal |year=2007 |title=Molecular and genomic data identify that their closest living relative non-colugo relatives are primates |journal=Science |volume=318 |issue=5851 |pages=792–794 |bibcode=2007Sci...318..792J |doi=10.1126/science.1147555 |pmid=17975064 |author1-first=Jan E. |author1-last=Janecka |author2-first=Webb |author2-last=Miller |author3-first=Thomas H. |author3-last=Pringle |author4-first=Frank |author4-last=Wiens |author5-first=Annette |author5-last=Zitzmann |author6-first=Kristofer M. |author6-last=Helgen |author7-first=Mark S. |author7-last=Springer |author8-first=William J. |author8-last=Murphy |s2cid=12251814}}

File:Dermoptera - toothcomb 01.jpg)]]

Colugos are unskilled climbers; they lack opposable thumbs.{{cite web |last=Piotrowski |first=Jan |title=Zoologger: The clumsy tree-dweller transforms into a gliding ace |website=New Scientist |date=2015-05-15 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27539-zoologger-the-clumsy-tree-dweller-transforms-into-a-gliding-ace/ |access-date=2021-11-23 |archive-date=2021-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123163640/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27539-zoologger-the-clumsy-tree-dweller-transforms-into-a-gliding-ace/ |url-status=live }} They progress up trees in a series of slow hops, gripping onto the bark with their small, sharp claws. They spend most of the day resting. At night, colugos spend most of their time up in the trees foraging, with gliding being used to either find another foraging tree or to find possible mates and protect territory.{{cite journal |last1=Spence |first1=Andrew J. |last2=Yeong |first2=Charlene |last3=Lim |first3=Norman T.-L. |last4=Byrnes |first4=Greg |date=2011-04-15 |title=Sex differences in the locomotor ecology of a gliding mammal, the Malayan colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) |url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/92/2/444/869618 |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |language=en |volume=92 |issue=2 |pages=444–451 |doi=10.1644/10-MAMM-A-048.1 |s2cid=84539846 |issn=0022-2372 |access-date=2018-12-05 |archive-date=2018-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205130744/https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/92/2/444/869618 |url-status=live }}

Colugos are shy, nocturnal, solitary animals found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Consequently, very little is known about their behavior. They are herbivorous and eat leaves, shoots, flowers, sap, and fruit. They have well-developed stomachs and long intestines capable of extracting nutrients from leaves and other fibrous material.

As part of colugos' evolution into a nocturnal species, they developed night vision.Moritz, G. L., Lim, N. T., Neitz, M., Peichl, L., & Dominy, N. J. (2013). Expression and Evolution of Short Wavelength Sensitive Opsins in Colugos: A Nocturnal Lineage That Informs Debate on Primate Origins. Evolutionary biology, 40(4), 542–553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-013-9230-y {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116074310/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11692-013-9230-y |date=2023-11-16 }} Colugos spend their days resting in tree holes and are active at night time; traveling around 1.7 km at night. Colugos may also be a territorial species.{{Cite web |title=Flying Lemur |url=https://a-z-animals.com/animals/flying-lemur/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224100805/https://a-z-animals.com/animals/flying-lemur/ |archive-date=24 December 2023 |website=A-Z Animals|date=25 May 2021 }}

Although they are placentals, colugos raise their young in a manner similar to marsupials. Newborn colugos are underdeveloped and weigh only {{cvt|35|g}}.{{cite book |editor-last=Macdonald |editor-first=David W. |title=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-920608-7}} They spend the first six months of life clinging to their mother's belly. The mother colugo curls her tail and folds her patagium into a warm, secure, quasipouch to protect and transport her young. The young do not reach maturity until they are two to three years old. In captivity, they live up to 15 years, but their lifespan in the wild is unknown.{{cite web |url=https://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Colugo |title=Colugo |last=Amsel |first=Sheri |website=Exploring Nature Educational Resource |access-date=2018-12-23 |archive-date=2018-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223121153/https://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Colugo |url-status=live }}

Both species are threatened by habitat destruction, and the Philippine flying lemur was once classified by the IUCN as vulnerable. In 1996, the IUCN declared the species vulnerable owing to destruction of lowland forests and hunting. It was downlisted to least-concern status in 2008 but still faces the same threats. In addition to the ongoing clearing of its rainforest habitat, it is hunted for its meat and fur. It is also a favorite prey item for the critically endangered Philippine eagle; some studies suggest colugos account for 90% of the eagle's diet.{{Cite book| last1 =Chandler| first1 = David| last2 = Couzens| first2 = Dominic| title = 100 Birds to See Before You Die| place= London| publisher = Carleton Books| year = 2008|page = 171|isbn = 978-1-84442-019-3 }}

Their family name Cynocephalidae comes from the Ancient Greek words {{lang|el|κύων}} (kyōn) "dog" and {{lang|el|κεφαλή}} (kephalē) "head" because their heads are broad with short snouts like dogs.{{cite web |url=http://www.nhc.ed.ac.uk/index.php?page=493.494 |title=Colugos or 'Flying lemurs' |last=Baines |first=Elizabeth |date=2001 |website=The Natural History Collections |publisher=University of Edinburgh |access-date=30 August 2023 |archive-date=30 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830142003/http://www.nhc.ed.ac.uk/index.php?page=493.494 |url-status=live }}

It is estimated the ancestors of the colugos split from other mammals about 80 million years ago, leading to the present day forms that consist of 7 to 14 extant species.[https://phys.org/news/2016-08-dna-analysis-colugos-primate-sister.html DNA analysis suggests colugos are part of a primate sister group] The Mixodectidae and Plagiomenidae appear to be fossil Dermoptera. Although other Paleogene mammals have been interpreted as related to dermopterans, the evidence for this association is uncertain and many of the fossils are no longer interpreted as being gliding mammals.{{cite conference |title=The first dentally associated skeleton of Plagiomenidae (Mammalia, ?Dermoptera) from the late Paleocene of Wyoming |date=November 2011 |doi=10.13140/2.1.1302.4322 |conference=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 71st Annual Meeting |location=Las Vegas, NV}} At present, the fossil record of definitive dermopterans is limited to two species of the Eocene and Oligocene cynocephalid genus Dermotherium.{{cite journal |author1=Marivaux, L. |author2=L. Bocat |author3=Y. Chaimanee |author4=J.-J. Jaeger |author5=B. Marandat |author6=P. Srisuk |author7=P. Tafforeau |author8=C. Yamee |author9=J.-L. Welcomme |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=Cynocephalid dermopterans from the Palaeogene of South Asia (Thailand, Myanmar and Pakistan): Systematic, evolutionary and palaeobiogeographic implications |journal=Zoologica Scripta |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=395–420 |doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00235.x |s2cid=86572864}}

Molecular phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that colugos emerged as a basal Primatomorpha clade – which, in turn, is a basal Euarchontoglires clade. Scandentia are widely considered to be the closest relatives of Primatomorpha, within Euarchonta. Some studies, however, place Scandentia as sister of Glires (lagomorphs and rodents), in an unnamed sister clade of the Primatomorpha.{{cite journal|last1=Meredith |first1=Robert W. |last2=Janečka |first2=Jan E. |last3=Gatesy |first3=John |last4=Ryder |first4=Oliver A. |last5=Fisher |first5=Colleen A. |last6=Teeling |first6=Emma C. |last7=Goodbla |first7=Alisha |last8=Eizirik |first8=Eduardo |last9=Simão |first9=Taiz L. L. |date=2011-10-28 |title=Impacts of the cretaceous terrestrial revolution and KPg extinction on mammal diversification |journal=Science |volume=334 |issue=6055 |pages=521–524 |doi=10.1126/science.1211028 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=21940861 |bibcode=2011Sci...334..521M |s2cid=38120449}}{{Cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Xuming |last2=Sun|first2=Fengming |last3=Xu |first3=Shixia |last4=Yang |first4=Guang |last5=Li |first5=Ming|date=2015-03-01 |title=The position of tree shrews in the mammalian tree: Comparing multi-gene analyses with phylogenomic results leaves monophyly of Euarchonta doubtful |journal=Integrative Zoology |language=en |volume=10|issue=2 |pages=186–198 |doi=10.1111/1749-4877.12116 |issn=1749-4877 |pmid=25311886}}

{{Clade

| label1=Euarchontoglires

| 1={{Clade

|1={{clade

| 1=Scandentia (treeshrews)

| label2=Glires

| 2={{Clade

| 1=Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas)

| 2=Rodentia (rodents)

}}

}}

| label2=Primatomorpha

| 2={{Clade

| 1=Dermoptera (colugos)

| 2={{Clade

| 1=†Plesiadapiformes

|state1=double

| 2=Primates}} }} }}

}}

• Order Dermoptera
• †Family Plagiomenidae?
• †Planetetherium
• †Planetetherium mirabile
• †Plagiomene
• †Plagiomene multicuspis
• †Family Mixodectidae?
• †Dracontolestes
• †Dracontolestes aphantus
• †Eudaemonema{{Cite journal |last=Scott |first=Craig S. |date=5 November 2010 |title=Eudaemonema webbi sp. nov. (Mammalia, Mixodectidae) from the late Paleocene of western Canada: the youngest known mixodectid |url=https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/E10-074?journalCode=cjes |access-date= |journal=Canadian Science Publishing|volume=47 |issue=12 |pages=1451–1462 |doi=10.1139/E10-074 |bibcode=2010CaJES..47.1451S }}
• †Eudaemonema cuspidata
• †Mixodectes
• †Mixodectes pungens
• †Mixodectes malaris
• Family Cynocephalidae
• Cynocephalus
• Philippine flying lemur, Cynocephalus volans
• Galeopterus
• Sunda flying lemur, Galeopterus variegatus
• †Dermotherium
• †Dermotherium major
• †Dermotherium chimaera

File:Colugo's claw.jpg|Claw of Sunda flying lemur

File:Colugo (Cynocephalus variegatus) " red " morph (8064072543).jpg|A red morph of a colugo

File:Cynocephalus volans 58339590.jpg|Black morph of a Sunda flying colugo

File:Sunda Flying Lemur.jpg|Colugo in a tree

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{{EB1911 poster|Galeopithecus}}

{{Commons}}

• [https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/688278 Flying lemurs are the closest relatives of primates]

{{Mammals}}

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{{Euarchontoglires|E.}}

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Category:Priabonian first appearances

Category:Extant Eocene first appearances