Colugo – Cynocephalus volans

Also called Dermoptera, the colugo is a mammal which includes only a family, Cynocephalidae. These includes two species. These mammals are well equipped to perform gliding flights. They live in trees.

Their flight membranes are very broad: they will shoulder blades, or rather of the chin to the end of the tail encompassing the legs. The difference with other “veiled” mammals, is that they have the same spaces between the fingers and toes that are webbed and carry the total area and their “wings” are covered with fur. They do not allow the flapping flight, but only to glide from tree to tree.

The Cynocephalus can glide a distance of 140m with a vertical drop of 12m. They arise very rarely on the ground, they can also stand up. Their muzzle is pointed, their eyes are large and round and they are the size of a rabbit. They feed on flowers and buds.

The dermoptera recall the bats, they have long been considered close to bats but an international team of researchers has definitively in 2012 combine these small mammals to primates and yet they are the closest relatives.