Palæos:		Unit 490: Dermoptera & Chiroptera
The Vertebrates		100: Dermoptera & Chiroptera

Dermoptera & Chiroptera

ARCHONTA
|
|--Dermoptera 
`--Chiroptera 

Taxa on This Page

1. Chiroptera

2. Dermoptera

Descriptions

Dermoptera: colugos (Cynocephalus), Ekgmowechashala. 2 R species of 1-2 kg SE Asian arboreal gliders somewhat convergent on bats. 

Range: fr upEc (mPc?). 

Phylogeny: Archonta :: Chiroptera + *. 

Characters: Skull broad & flat; dental formula 2/3, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3; I2 caniniform; i1-2 broad & comb-like, used for grooming and scraping leaves; canines double-rooted; broad, 3-cusp molars with shearing enamel lophs; palate broad & flattened; large tongue; large forward-facing eyes with overlapping fields of vision; postorbital bar nearly complete; tympanic bullae flattened; thoracic neural spines short; ribs broad; sternum slightly keeled; radius elongated, but distal ulna reduced; digits 5/5 with sharp, curved claws (climbing); membranes from neck to fingers, between limbs, and from foot to tip of tail; sloth-like, under-branch climbers; long-distance gliding (>100 m); herbivorous, frugivorous; long intestinal tract with very large cecum; 1 offspring per pregnancy; strictly arboreal & unable to walk. 

Links: Order Dermoptera/Family Cynocephalidae; Lecture 12 - Mac/Der/Scan.; Order Dermoptera: Flying Lemurs or Colugos; Mammalogy, lecture 9; Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections- DERMOPTERA; Mammalia- Dermoptera - Riesengleiter (German); <br><b>Order Dermoptera- Flying Lemurs or Colugos (skull & skeleton); Dermoptera after McKenna & Bell 1997; Dermoptera - Letuchy (Czech); Dermoptera (Spanish); Sub-Unit- Order Dermoptera.  ATW030309.

Icaronycteris index.  Upper Eocene of Montana (Green R. fm.). The bones that appear to be posterior processes from the elbow area are phalanges. The carpal joint is flexed 180°, and the hand lies under the forearm.

Range: fr upPc. 

Phylogeny: Archonta :: Dermoptera + *. 

Characters: First set of teeth with long, sharp, recurved cusps; jugal reduced, & does not contact lacrimal; two entotympanic elements; posterior laminae present on ribs; extensive use of echolocation with complex adaptations of brain; clavicle large element & articulates with sternal manubrium and with acromion & coracoid processes of scapula; clavicle primary brace for pectoral girdle; scapula relatively unconstrained & can rotate around longitudinal axis; forelimbs & digits (except digit 1) elongated; specialized carpal & elbow joints limited to movement in anteroposterior plane (to control wing membranes in flight and reduce weight of joint?); presence of ulnar patella ("elbow cap"?); distal ulna reduced; flight membranes (patagia) between arm and 5th digit, between digits, hind limbs and tail, and "arm" and neck region; wings have high and variable camber, low wing loading, & low aspect ratio for controlled, high-lift, low-speed flight; chiropatagium between III & IV most important; muscles and elastic fibers in patagia; flight & recovery strokes involve several muscle groups and are less stereotyped than in birds; hind limb usually rotated 90 or 180 degrees from usual mammalian orientation, thin but not reduced in length; fibula usually reduced; complex social behavior and communication; heterothermy (reduced metabolism during daily torpor cycle) in some forms as well as hibernation; relatively slow, highly maneuverable flight; many have secondary flight style for very slow or hovering flight (involves wings well anterior to usual level flight position); no cecum; nocturnal or crepescular; numerous ecological guilds. 

Links: Willie's Chiroptera Page; Chiroptera; Chiroptera Italica; Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections; Canadian Bat Resources; World bibliography on subterranean Mammalia, Chiroptera; A Checklist of the Mammals of the World: Chiroptera (Bats); Kentucky Bat Working Group (there are many good bat sites, but this may be Best on the Web). 

checked ATW050727