404 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY 



In the fore part of either * k wing," in any specimen of our flying 

 squirrels, the student will find a slender, subosseous splint ex- 

 tending from the wrist into the interdernial space of the lateral 

 extension, or " wing," as I have just termed it. Arboreal rodents 

 of the family Anomaluridw, several species of which are found in 

 West Africa, possess an homologous splint, but it articulates at 

 the elbow (the olecranon) instead of at the carpus, or wrist, as 

 in Sciuropterus. These African forms (A fulgens, for example) 

 have also peculiar scales upon the under side of the fore part of 

 the tail that assist them in climbing and alighting upon a rough 

 surface after flight. 



Some of the large East Indian species of flying squirrels are 

 very elegant creatures, the fur of which is often high colored. 

 Pteromys nitidus, for instance, is larger than our gray squirrel, 

 and is of a deep chestnut above, while its nether surface is of a 

 bright red. Others show various shades of orange, bay, or black. 

 These likewise possess the splint bone in their dermal para- 

 chutes, serving as " stretchers " or " auxiliary extensors," when 

 the latter are spread in the act of sailing in the air. We have 

 much yet to learn of the habits of these Bornean, Javanese, and 

 other foreign species, and as for the details of their anatomy we 

 are even still less informed upon. 



In the Australian region there is another group of animals 

 that possess flying membranes as in our flying squirrels; they 

 are representatives of the three genera, Petaurus, Belideus, and 

 Acrobata, of the family of Phalangistidw, or Phalangers, as they 

 are called. These are marsupial forms ranging in size all the w r ay 

 from that of a mouse to species as big as a cat. The habits and 

 mode of life of these peculiar animals are extremely interesting, 

 and well deserving of the study of the natural historian. 



Among the insectivora we also find a flying mammal ; namely, 

 the two species called the " flying lemurs," a name given to the 

 first known one by Linnseus. They constitute the family Galeo- 

 pitJiecidcF ; the Galeopithecus volans being the type most frequently 

 seen in collections. G. philpinensis is the other species, and they 

 both occur in the forests of the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Bor- 

 neo, and the Philippine Islands. By the natives this animal is 

 called the Kabung; others term it the Colugo; while many old 

 works on natural history have them flying lemurs, flying foxes, 

 or flying cats. 



The integumentary parachute in them is even far more exten- 



