Colugos (aka flying lemurs) - the closest living relatives of primates most notable for their ability to glide from tree to tree over considerable distances - are more diverse than had previously been believed, according to a new report published in the November 11th issue of
Current Biology.
© Norman LimColuga gliding with baby.
Scientists had recognized just two species of these enigmatic mammals, the Sunda colugo and the Philippine colugo. However, the new findings show that the Sunda colugo, found only in Indochina and Sundaland, including the large islands of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java, actually represents at least three separate species.
"We were guessing that we might find that there were different species of Sunda colugo - although we were not sure," said Jan Janecka of Texas A&M University. "But what really surprised us was how old the speciation events were. Some went back four to five million years," making the colugo species as old as other modern species groups (or genera) such as the primates known as macaques and the leopard cats.
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