Meet the colugo, a mammal which resembles the flying lemur but can't fly

Colugos are one of those animals that look so unusual you might think they were computer-generated. They are often called flying lemurs, yet that name is misleading. They are not lemurs, and they do not truly fly. Colugos belong to their own order, Dermoptera, and their closest living relatives are actually primates.They are nocturnal, moving through the forest at night. Their small faces are covered in soft fur, and the first thing you notice are the eyes. Large, round, and forward-facing, these eyes help them see in the dark and judge distances between branches.A colugo’s most striking feature is its patagium. This is a sheet of skin that stretches from its neck to its fingers, toes, and even its tail. When spread, it turns the animal into a living sail. The span can reach about 70 centimetres. In the air, a colugo can glide more than 100 metres while losing very little height, often moving at around 35 kilometres per hour.Their feet are webbed, with curved claws that dig into tree bark. These claws help them climb and cling, while the soles of their feet can press into the trunk like a suction cup. Female colugos carry their babies pressed to their belly, sheltering them inside the folds of the patagium as they glide from tree to tree.There are only two living species. The Sunda colugo is the larger, reaching about 42 centimetres in body length with a tail of up to 27 centimetres, and weighing up to 2 kilograms. Their fur comes in shades of grey, black, reddish-brown, or white, often patterned with spots and streaks that mimic the look of lichen and bark. This camouflage keeps them hidden from predators.One of their most unusual traits is their lower front teeth. They are shaped like tiny combs, with up to twenty thin prongs on each. Colugos use these to groom themselves and remove parasites. They may also scrape sap from trees or strain juices from fruit. Their bones are lighter than those of squirrels but heavier than bats, a balance that suits their gliding lifestyle.Colugos live entirely in the treetops, seldom coming down. They launch from a branch, glide silently across the gap, and land gripping the bark with claws and webbed toes. For a creature that never truly flies, they are among the most accomplished travellers of the forest canopy.