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The only animals that can truly fly are birds, insects, and one type of mammal, which is of course the bat. Other animals manage to travel through the air by gliding from great heights, or leaping from the depths.
1. Flying Mobulas
The mobula or devil ray is related to manta rays. They can grow up to 17 feet wide and ten feet long. These muscular fish can leap several feet out of the water, but no one is quite sure why they do it.
2. Flying Lemurs
Flying lemurs of the family Cynocephalidae are neither true lemurs, nor do they actually fly. They are also known by their Malaysian name, colugos. These mammals live in southeast Asia and are about the size of a house cat. Colugos glide between trees using their patagium, or flaps of skin between their front and hind legs and extending to the tail and the neck. Colugos are even webbed between their toes. The flying lemur is not a lemur, but the four species of Cynocephalidae are the closest related family to primates.
3. Flying Fish
There are about 50 different species of flying fish, although they don’t fly so much as they leap from the water with a push of their powerful pectoral fins. Most of the species live in tropical waters. Fish have been observed skipping over the waves for as long as 45 seconds at a time. Why do they leap into the air? Possibly because air offers less resistance than water, and the fish can move faster. At least until they need to breathe.
4. Flying snake
The flying snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) lives in the rain forests of Southeast Asia. It has no patagium, but glides from the treetops by flattening its body out to maximize surface area. The snakes slither from side to side to glide in the desired direction. The idea of a flying snake may be terrifying, but these snakes are officially classified as “harmless”. Photograph by Jake Socha.
5. Flying Gecko
The flying gecko lives in -you guessed it- the Malaysian rain forest. The gecko has a patagium that allows it to parachute or glide down from its treetop home. Flying geckos are sometimes kept as pets.
6. Flying Frog
Wallace’s flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) is found in Maysia and Indonesia, where it lives high in the treetops. This frog has long webbed toes and a skin flap between its limbs which allows it to parachute down from treetops. The term “parachute” in this case refers to the fact that the animal floats downward at a steep angle, while other “gliding” animals can float to one side or another and change direction while gliding downward. Although Wallace’s flying frog prefer to live high up, they must descend to near ground level to mate and to lay eggs. Photograph by Tim Laman.
7. Flying Squirrel
Flying squirrels (Pteromyini) include 43 different species. They are native to North America, northern Europe, and Siberia. When they leap from a tall tree, a flying squirrel will spread its skin flaps until it resembles a kite or parachute. The squirrel can steer somewhat by moving its wrists and adjusting the tautness of its patagium.
There are more animals that can glide, float, or jump through the air with what seems like the greatest of ease. For this post, I restricted the list to those creatures who have the word “flying” in their common names.
Comments (25)
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“These muscular fish can leap several feet out of the water, but no one is quite sure why they do it.”
Why they do it? If you could do it, wouldn’t you?
posted by Griffin Patterson on 7-9-2009 at 9:30 am
I think I could handle any of these but the flying snake…yikes!
posted by Karen on 7-9-2009 at 10:16 am
There is no such thing as a harmless flying snake!
posted by Don on 7-9-2009 at 10:46 am
and now for something you’ll REALLY like!
posted by ee the c on 7-9-2009 at 10:49 am
“Harmless flying snake” is definitely an oxymoron. If I saw a snake flying through the air, I would have a heart attack.
posted by Dawn on 7-9-2009 at 11:02 am
I’m with the others. A flying snake is terrifying – and would certainly cause me bodily harm just by witnessing the act.
This will likely bother me all day.
posted by Karen on 7-9-2009 at 11:06 am
“Why they do it? If you could do it, wouldn’t you?”
Well put.
posted by Ian on 7-9-2009 at 11:28 am
There are fish that actually fly by flapping in the air, and you can buy them, though you’ll need a top on your tank….
posted by Rick on 7-9-2009 at 12:20 pm
hmm, the web site didn’t paste in. Mush have misunderstood the purpose of the box. Nothing to flap about, I’ll paste it here: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/characins/hatchet.php
posted by Rick on 7-9-2009 at 12:24 pm
“These muscular fish can leap several feet out of the water, but no one is quite sure why they do it.”
…and just under the water are a bunch of senior Devil Rays, playing dominoes and drinking lemonade, complaining about how those d@mn youngsters are recklessly flying out of the water and making too much noise.
Good Post!
posted by TXCherokee on 7-9-2009 at 4:33 pm
ahhh..One of those flying lemur things got into my house..he’s holding me hostage with a knife in his wingy arm.
posted by Television Spy on 7-9-2009 at 6:17 pm
“Possibly because air offers less resistance than water, and the fish can move faster. At least until they need to breathe.”
Fish can breathe fine in air, but prolonged stay out of water will cause their gills to collapse under their own weight, and the fish will die cause of that.
posted by M on 7-9-2009 at 6:29 pm
Squirrels creep me out just scurrying around like they do, so that furry rhombus flying towards me? Crikies!
“…adjusting the tautness of its patagium”.
Thank you for that. :)
I’ll try to use it in a sentence tomorrow.
posted by AMR on 7-9-2009 at 7:27 pm
What of the pteropus or, as it is commonly known, the flying fox? They’re twice as adorable as the flying lemur!
posted by Mike B. on 7-9-2009 at 7:29 pm
That’s not flying, it’s falling, with style!
posted by Jamie on 7-9-2009 at 8:00 pm
A flying snake. That is too much for anyone to handle.
And why is everything flying in Southeast Asia… Whats evolution got brewing over there?
As for the mobula, that sucker looks ready to kill… Thats why he does it.
posted by Chrystani on 7-9-2009 at 8:00 pm
The Mobula flies to get away from the flying sharks, who in turn are getting the hell out of the way of the flying bears!
posted by PO on 7-9-2009 at 8:06 pm
Mike B, the pteropus is a bat, which is a whole ‘nother post.
posted by Miss Cellania on 7-9-2009 at 9:36 pm
@ Jamie: Nice Toy Story reference!
posted by RIchard Y on 7-9-2009 at 11:27 pm
Forget about Snakes on a Plane, these snakes ARE Motherf%@#ing Planes!!!!!!
posted by shiva on 7-10-2009 at 6:43 am
Hmm, didn’t know about the Mobula, but I knew about the rest.
posted by Izaak on 7-11-2009 at 12:42 pm
@ee the c: Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat, indeed. :D
As for the flying gecko, dare I break out my best little orphan impression and exclaim, “Leapin’ lizards!”
posted by CJ the Mooseophile on 7-14-2009 at 11:51 am
They’ve missed the flying octopus.
posted by Euphorbium on 7-22-2009 at 12:20 pm
Euporbium, I covered the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus in this post:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/7777
posted by Miss Cellania on 7-22-2009 at 3:13 pm
i just wondering about them strange habitual.
why God creat animal like that and why they have to fly?
what will God tell to us?
what is your answer?!
posted by afif on 8-10-2009 at 12:46 am