New Flying Lemur Discovered
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 10th, 2008
A Sunda colugo, a type of flying lemur (above), carries its baby as it soars through a Singapore rain forest in an undated photo.
The discovery of at least three new species of colugo flies in the face of knowledge about the tree-dwelling creatures, scientists said today.
Flying lemurs are considered the closest living relatives to primates.
The two previously known species are the Sunda and Philippine colugo.
But new DNA analysis of the Sunda colugo, found in Indochina and Indonesia, has revealed that what was thought to be a single species is actually at least three.
“We didn’t realize how extensive the speciation events were,” said lead author Jan Janecka of Texas A&M University.
Colugos have specialized physical features, such as a skin membrane attached to their limbs, that allow them to live in their unusual treetop habitats.
When species branched off over time, they retained the same appearance, Janecka said—leading scientists to believe the Sunda colugos belonged to one species.
The finding also has a “big conservation impact,” Janecka added.
Now, if a regional population dies out due to deforestation or other human activities, he said, an entire species could be lost.
Photograph by Norman Lim
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What a cool critter!
My two year old loves this picture of the mother and baby lemur.
She keeps pointing at it and saying, “Mama, baby, fly!”
This may just be the beginning. The paper in the Nov. 11 issue of Current Biology says that nuclear DNA suggests that the mainland populations may be split.
The last taxonomy review recognized 4 subspecies instead of up to 18 species of earlier classifications, but says further study is needed on dwarf inland forms to determine subspecific status. It also mentions a newly discovered dwarf form from Laos. (Journal of Mammalogy, 81(2):360–385, 2000)
Since the new study found surprising genetic diversity in a “morphologically conservative” genus, the species count could be much higher.
That is one creepy looking creature…
WOW! Awesome picture! Hope they find some way to preserve their habitat.
Rogutaan:
I agree with you!!!
Looks like a flying stingray…:)
Hi Loren,
I have also been photographing these animals for years. Spoken to Norman Lim (the researcher and photographer of this picture) on a few occasions. For a glimpse of my Colugo photos, visit my photo album. Most of the photos are on pages 2,3 and 4 of the album.
Cheers