Sunda flying lemur

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Sunda flying lemur
Kaguaani 02.jpg
Sunda flying lemur
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Dermoptera
Family: Cynocephalidae
Genus: Galeopterus
Thomas, 1908
Species:
G. variegatus [2]
Binomial name
Galeopterus variegatus [2]
(Audebert, 1799)
Sunda Flying Lemur area.png
Sunda flying lemur range
Synonyms [3] : 241, 252 
  • Galeopithecus volansPallas

The Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus), also called Malayan flying lemur and Malayan colugo is the sole colugo species of the genus Galeopterus. [2] It is native to Southeast Asia from southern Myanmar, Thailand, southern Vietnam, Malaysia to Singapore and Indonesia and listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. [1] Although it is called "flying lemur", it cannot fly but glides among trees and is strictly arboreal. It is active at night, and feeds on soft plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits. It is a forest-dependent species.

Contents

The Sunda flying lemur is protected by national legislation. The Sunda flying lemurs are often hunted by local people with spears or other lethal equipment for various reasons such as food and fur. Habitat loss is known to occur intermittently, particularly in developing countries such as Malaysia. [4]

Taxonomy and evolution

Skull Galeopterus varigatus Skull.jpg
Skull
Jaw with teeth Dermoptera - toothcomb 01.jpg
Jaw with teeth

The Sunda flying lemurs' two forms are not morphologically distinct from one another; the large form occurs on the mainland of the Sunda Shelf area and the mainland of Southeast Asia, while the dwarf form occurs in central Laos and some other adjacent islands. [5] The Laos specimen is smaller (about 20%) than the other known mainland population. [6]

Despite the large and dwarf forms, four subspecies are known: G. v. variegatus (Java), G. v. temminckii (Sumatra), G. v. borneanus (Borneo), and G. v. peninsulae (Peninsular Malaysia and mainland of Southeast Asia) [5] incorporating on the genetic species concept due to geographic isolation and genetic divergence. Recent molecular and morphological data provide the evidence that the mainland, Javan, and Bornean Sunda flying lemur subspecies may be recognised as three separate species in the genus Galeopterus. [7]

Characteristics

The Sunda flying lemur is a skillful climber, but is nearly helpless when on the ground. [8] Its gliding membrane connects from the neck, extending along the limbs to the tips of the fingers, toes, and nails. [9] This kite-shaped skin is known as a patagium, which is expanded for gliding. It can glide over a distance of 100 m with a loss of fewer than 10 m in elevation. [9] It has a dorsiflexed and abducted foot while having an abducted clawed grasp. This technique help to climb trees easier and faster while looking for food or staying away from predators. [10]

The head-body length of Sunda flying lemur is about 33 to 42 cm (13 to 17 in). Its tail length measures 18 to 27 cm (7.1 to 10.6 in), [11] its hind legs measure between 6.5 to 7.3 cm (2.6 to 2.9 in) long. It weighs 0.9 to 1.3 kg (2.0 to 2.9 lb). [12]

Distribution and habitat

The Sunda flying lemur is widely distributed throughout Southeast Asia, ranging from the Sunda Shelf mainland to other islands – northern Laos, [6] Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak), Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Bali, Java), [5] [13] and many adjacent islands. [14] Conversely, the Philippine flying lemur (C. volans) is confined to the southern parts of the Philippines only. [5]

The Sunda flying lemur is adapted to many different vegetation types, including gardens, primary and secondary forest, [15] rubber and coconut plantations, [16] fruit orchards (dusun), [17] mangrove swamps, [18] lowlands and upland forests, [9] [19] tree plantations, [14] lowland dipterocarp forests, and mountainous areas, [20] but not all of these habitats can sustain large colugo populations. [21]

Behaviour and ecology

The Sunda flying lemur is nocturnal, but is sometimes active in the morning and in the afternoon. [12] It can maneuver and navigate while gliding, but strong rain and wind can affect its ability to glide. Gliding usually occurs in open areas or high in the canopy, especially in dense tropical rainforest. It needs a certain distance to glide and to land to avoid injury. [22] The highest landing forces are experienced after short glides; longer glides lead to softer landings, due to its ability to brake its glide aerodynamically. The ability to glide increases a colugo's access to scattered food resources in the rainforest, without increasing exposure to terrestrial or arboreal predators. [23]

The Sunda flying lemur mainly forages in tree canopies on several different tree species in a single night, [24] [25] or on a single species.

Diet

In general, its diet consists mainly of leaves; it usually consumes leaves with less potassium and nitrogen-containing compounds, but with higher tannin. [26] It also feeds on buds, [18] shoots, [14] flowers of coconut and durian trees [17] fruits and sap [20] from selected tree species. It also feeds on insects in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. [27] The selected food sources depend on the localities, habitat, vegetation types, and availability. [28]

It has been observed to lick tree bark of selected tree species to obtain water, nutrients, salts, and minerals. [29]

Reproduction

After a 60-day gestation period, a single offspring is carried on the mother's abdomen held by a large skin membrane. [30] [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colugo</span> Family of mammals

Colugos are arboreal gliding mammals that are native to Southeast Asia. Their closest evolutionary relatives are primates. There are just two living species of colugos: the Sunda flying lemur and the Philippine flying lemur. These two species make up the entire family Cynocephalidae and order Dermoptera.

<i>Draco</i> (lizard) Genus of lizards

Draco is a genus of agamid lizards that are also known as flying lizards, flying dragons or gliding lizards. These lizards are capable of gliding flight via membranes that may be extended to create wings (patagia), formed by an enlarged set of ribs. They are arboreal insectivores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying squirrel</span> Tribe of mammals

Flying squirrels are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they are able to glide from one tree to another with the aid of a patagium, a furred skin membrane that stretches from wrist to ankle. Their long tails also provide stability as they glide. Anatomically they are very similar to other squirrels with a number of adaptations to suit their lifestyle; their limb bones are longer and their hand bones, foot bones, and distal vertebrae are shorter. Flying squirrels are able to steer and exert control over their glide path with their limbs and tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patagium</span> Membranous structure that assists an animal in gliding or flight

The patagium is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flying. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, birds, some dromaeosaurs, pterosaurs, gliding mammals, some flying lizards, and flying frogs. The patagium that stretches between an animal's hind limbs is called the uropatagium or the interfemoral membrane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunda pangolin</span> Species of pangolin found in southeast Asia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying and gliding animals</span> Animals that have evolved aerial locomotion

A number of animals are capable of aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or by gliding. This trait has appeared by evolution many times, without any single common ancestor. Flight has evolved at least four times in separate animals: insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats. Gliding has evolved on many more occasions. Usually the development is to aid canopy animals in getting from tree to tree, although there are other possibilities. Gliding, in particular, has evolved among rainforest animals, especially in the rainforests in Asia where the trees are tall and widely spaced. Several species of aquatic animals, and a few amphibians and reptiles have also evolved this gliding flight ability, typically as a means of evading predators.

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<i>Draco sumatranus</i> Species of lizard

Draco sumatranus, the common gliding lizard, is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Southeast Asia. It has elongated ribs and skin flaps on the sides of its body. When opened, these skin flaps allow it to glide between tree trunks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater glider</span> Genus of marsupials

The greater gliders are three species of large gliding marsupials in the genus Petauroides, all of which are found in eastern Australia. Until 2020 they were considered to be one species, Petauroides volans. In 2020 morphological and genetic differences, obtained using diversity arrays technology, showed there were three species subsumed under this one name. The two new species were named Petauroides armillatus and Petauroides minor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine flying lemur</span> Species of mammal

The Philippine flying lemur or Philippine colugo, known locally as kagwang, is one of two species of colugo or "flying lemurs". It is monotypic of its genus. Although it is called "flying lemur", the Philippine flying lemur is neither a lemur nor does it fly. Instead, it glides as it leaps among trees.

Vinckeia is a subgenus of the genus Plasmodium — all of which are parasitic alveolates. The subgenus Vinckeia was created by Cyril Garnham in 1964 to accommodate the mammalian parasites other than those infecting the primates.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red and white giant flying squirrel</span> Species of rodent

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Dermotherium is a genus of fossil mammals closely related to the living colugos, a small group of gliding mammals from Southeast Asia. Two species are recognized: D. major from the Late Eocene of Thailand, based on a single fragment of the lower jaw, and D. chimaera from the Late Oligocene of Thailand, known from three fragments of the lower jaw and two isolated upper molars. In addition, a single isolated upper molar from the Early Oligocene of Pakistan has been tentatively assigned to D. chimaera. All sites where fossils of Dermotherium have been found were probably forested environments and the fossil species were probably forest dwellers like living colugos, but whether they had the gliding adaptations of the living species is unknown.

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 Stafford, B.J. (2005). "Order Dermoptera". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 110. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. ↑ Chapman, H.C. (1902). "Observations upon Galeopithecus volans". Proceedings of the Academy of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 54: 241–254.
  4. ↑ Nasir, M. D. & Abdullah, M. T. (2010). "Distribution of the Sunda Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) in Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah, Sarawak)". Tropical Life Sciences Research. 21 (2): 69–83. PMC   3819077 . PMID   24575200.
  5. 1 2 3 4
    Henke, Winfried; Tattersall, Ian (2007). Handbook of Paleoanthropology. Springer Science and Business Media. pp. 831–859. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-33761-4. ISBN   978-3-540-32474-4.
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  7. ↑ Janecka, J.E.; Helgen, K.M.; Lim, N.T.L.; Baba, M.; Izawa, M.; Boeadi; Murphy, W.J. (2008). "Evidence for multiple species of Sunda Colugo". Current Biology. 18 (21): R1001–1002. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.09.005 . PMID   19000793.
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  9. 1 2 3 Feldhamer, G.A., Drickamer, L.C., Vessey, S.H. and Merritt, J.F. (2003). Mammalogy: adaptation, diversity, and ecology. 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., New York.
  10. ↑ Youlatos, D.; Widayati, K.A.; Tsuji, Y. (2019). "Foot postures and grasping of free-ranging Sunda colugos (Galeopterus variegatus) in West Java, Indonesia". Mammalian Biology. 95: 164–172. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2018.06.004. ISSN   1616-5047. S2CID   90630163.
  11. ↑ Shepherd, C. R.; Shepherd, L. A. (2012). A Naturalist's Guide to the Mammals of Southeast Asia. Wiltshire, UK: John Beaufoy Publishing. p. 17. ISBN   978-1-906780-71-5.
  12. 1 2 Payne, J., C.M. Francis, K. Phillipps, S.N. Kartikasari. 2000. Panduan Lapangan Mamalia di Kalimantan, Sabah, Sarawak & Brunei Darussalam: 175, LG 19. Bogor: WCS-IP, The Sabah Society & WWF Malaysia.
  13. ↑ Corbet, G.B. and Hill, J.E. (1992). The mammals of the Indomalayan region: A systematic review. Natural History Museum Publications. Oxford University Press, Oxford
  14. 1 2 3 Francis, C.M. (2008). A field guide to the mammals of south-east Asia. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd., London.
  15. ↑ Lekagul, B. and McNeely, J.A. (1977). Mammals of Thailand. Kurusapha Ladprao Press, Bangrak (Bangkok).
  16. ↑ Hill, J.E. (1993). Flying lemurs (in encyclopedia of animals). Weldon Owen Pty Limited, Singapore.
  17. 1 2 Ketol B.; Abdullah M.T.; Tedong S. (2006). "Distribution records of the rare flying lemur in Kota Samarahan and Kuching Area, Sarawak". Sarawak Museum Journal. 83: 237–241.
  18. 1 2 Yasuma, S. & Andau, M. (2000). Mammals of Sabah. Vol. Habitat and Ecology. Kota Kinabalu: Tian Sing Printing Co.
  19. ↑ Payne, J., Francis, C.M. and Phillipps, K. (1985). A field guide to the mammals of Borneo. Sabah Society, Kota Kinabalu.
  20. 1 2 Lim, B.L. (1967). "Observations on the food habits and ecological habitat of the Malaysian flying lemur". International Zoo Yearbook. 7: 196–197. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1090.1967.tb00391.x.
  21. ↑ Lim, N.T.-L.; Giam, X.; Byrnes, G.; Clements, G.R. (2013). "Occurrence of the Sunda colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) in the tropical forests of Singapore: A Bayesian approach". Mammalian Biology. 78: 63–67. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2012.06.008.
  22. ↑ Byrnes G.; Norman T.-L. Lim; Spence, A.J. (2008). "Take-off and landing kinetics of a free-ranging gliding mammal, the Malayan Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus)". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1638): 1007–1013. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1684. PMC   2600906 . PMID   18252673.
  23. ↑ Byrnes G.; Libby, T.; Lim, N.T.-L.; Spence, A.J. (2011). "Gliding saves time but not energy in Malayan Colugos". Journal of Experimental Biology. 214 (16): 2690–2696. doi: 10.1242/jeb.052993 . PMID   21795564.
  24. ↑ Wischusen, E.W. (1990). The foraging ecology and natural history of the Philippine flying lemur (Cynocephalus volans). PhD Thesis. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
  25. ↑ Wischusen, E.W.; Richmond, M.E. (1998). "Foraging ecology of the Philippine Flying Lemur (Cynocephalus volans)". Journal of Mammalogy. 79 (4): 1288–1295. doi: 10.2307/1383020 . JSTOR   1383020.
  26. ↑ Agoramoorthy G.; Sha C.M.; Hsu M.J. (2006). "Population, diet and conservation of Malayan flying lemurs in altered and fragmented habitats in Singapore". Biodiversity and Conservation. 15 (7): 2177–2185. doi:10.1007/s10531-004-6900-1. S2CID   24313720.
  27. ↑ Davis D D. (1958). Mammals of the Kelabit Plateau Northern Sarawak. Chicago: Chicago Natural History Museum.
  28. ↑ Sih, A. (1993). Effects of ecological interactions on forager diets: Competition, predation risk, parasitism and prey behavior. In diet selection: An interdisciplinary approach to foraging behavior (Hughes, R.N. eds). Blackwell Scientific Publications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  29. ↑ Lim, N.T-L. (2007). Colugo: The flying lemur of South-East Asia. Draco Publishing and Distribution Pte Ltd., Singapore.
  30. ↑ Burnie, David; Wilson, Don E., eds. (2005-09-19). Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife (1st paperback ed.). Dorling Kindersley. ISBN   0-7566-1634-4.
  31. ↑ ZipCodeZoo: Malayan Flying Lemur Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

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