Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/306

 298 FLYING LEMUR FLYING SQUIRREL (Mitch.) has two appendages from the lower jaw ; it is 3 to 5 in. long, and extends from New York to the gulf of Mexico ; the pecto- rals are large, and the ventrals very long. The middling flying fish Dr. Weinland has made the type of a new genus halocypselus ; this species (H. mesogaster, Weinland) is found in the West Indies, varying in length from 4 to 7 in. ; the ventrals are very short, about one quarter as long as the pectorals, anterior to the middle of the body, between the anus and the pectorals ; the lower jaw is angular. The fly- ing gurnard (dactylopterus volitans, Cuv.), a spiny fish of the family triglidce or sclerogenidce, has also been called flying fish by navigators. The species has been described as occurring in the Mediterranean, in the tropical seas, in the West Indies, and the gulf of Mexico, and along the American coast from Newfoundland south- ward ; probably more than one species will be found over such an extended range. These flying fish or sea swallows behave very much like the exocceti, swimming in immense shoals, leaping out of the water for sport and for safety, preyed upon by marine and aerial ene- mies, and falling in consequence into equally Flying Gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans). cruel hands on board vessels which come within their range. From the rapid drying of their pectorals and their less muscular power, they fall into the water again sooner than do the true flying fish; their pectorals serve merely as parachutes. They vary from 6 to 8 in. in length. FLYING LEMUR, Colngo, or Cat Monkey, the common name of animals of the family galeopi- thecidce, elevated into the order pteropleura or dermoptera by some authors; they evidently constitute the connecting link between the monkeys and the bats. In the single genus galeopithecus (Pall.) the dental formula, ac- cording to Owen, is : incisors f if, canines ^-Zy premolars f ~|, and molars f if ; the feet are all five-toed, without opposable thumbs, united by a small membrane, armed with claws, and adapted for climbing. The body is surrounded by a hairy lateral membrane, extending from the sides of the neck to the base of the feet, embracing the wrists, and continued between the legs, involving the tail as in many bats; this membrane, like that of the flying squirrel, serves as a parachute to sustain the animal in its astonishing leaps from tree to tree. The edges of the lower incisors are serrated like the teeth of a comb ; the eyes large and promi- nent, the ears moderate ; there are two pairs of pectoral mammae. They are nocturnal ani- mals, passing the day suspended from trees by the hind claws like bats ; they are very active at night, climbing with facility, and springing Flying Lemur (Galeopithecus volans). from tree to tree for a distance of 100 yards; the females carry the young in the fold of ab- dominal integument, when travelling among the trees; their food consists principally of fruits, insects, small birds, and eggs ; their movements on the ground are rather awk- ward. The largest species (G. variegatus, Geoffr.) is about the size of a cat, but slim- mer ; the color varies from light gray to russet, spotted and striped with black and light colors. All the species live in the East Indian archi- pelago. Though emitting a disagreeable odor, the flesh is considered palatable Iby the natives. FLYING SQUIRREL (pteromys, Cuv.; Gr. TTT^OV, wing, and /uii^ mouse), a genus of the family sciuridce, differing from common squir- rels principally in the expansion of the skin between the fore and hind feet, by means of which the animal sails in a descending line from one tree to another, supported as by a parachute. There are two subdivisions of the genus : pteromys, with rounded tail and com- plicated molar teeth; and sciuropterus (F. Cuv.), with flattened tail and molars simple as in other squirrels. The species of the United States and the single one found in Europe be- long to the last subgenus. The dentition and general appearance are like those of squirrels ; the head and ears are round, and the eyes large ; there are four elongated toes with sharp claws, and the rudiment of a thumb, on the fore feet ; five long toes, fitted for climbing, on the hind feet ; the sailing membrane is attached in front to a slender movable bone about an inch long, extending at a right angle from the hand; the membrane is hairy on both sides. The common flying squirrel (P. or S. wlucella,