All printables
Colugo — printable fact sheet
Free to print or save as PDF. Great for classrooms, homeschooling, and young explorers.
Creature Atlas
Animal Fact Sheet
Name: ____________________
Date: ____________________
Colugo
Cynocephalus volans
The colugo is neither a lemur nor capable of flight, despite the persistent name "flying lemur." It belongs to its own order, Dermoptera, and molecular work places it as the closest living relative of primates — closer to us than tree shrews are. Its gliding membrane is the most…
Did you know?
- Colugos are the closest living relatives to primates, despite their unusual appearance and gliding lifestyle.
- A colugo's stomach is enlarged to ferment leaves, and its intestine is proportionally one of the longest of any mammal its size. The infant is carried in a hammock formed by folding the tail membrane forward, effectively a marsupial-style pouch built from gliding skin. Colugos cannot leap; a glide begins with a simple drop from the trunk, so an unusually tall launch tree is essential. Their strange comb-teeth were once thought to be a food strainer, but the leading interpretation is now grooming — the tines act like a hairbrush.
What I learned
Draw the colugo
© Creature Atlas · www.creatureatlas.com · Free for classroom & personal use
Want the whole set?
Get printable fact-sheet packs, coloring pages, and classroom worksheet bundles for dozens of animals — ready to download and print.
Browse printable packsGet a free printable each week
Join the newsletter for a new Creature of the Week + printables.