A number of animals have evolved aerial locomotion, either by flight or by gliding. Flight has evolved at least four times, in the insects, birds, pterosaurs and bats, while gliding has evolved mostly among rainforest animals, especially in Asia’s rainforests where the trees are tall and widely spaced. Here is our list of top 10 most unusual flying and gliding animal creatures : Link
1. Gliding Ants
Gliding ants are arboreal ants that have abilities of controling the direction of their descent and returning to their home tree trunk when they fall from branches, using visual cues to locate the trunk. They are first discovered by the insect ecologist Stephen P. Yanoviak. Some researches have shown that the gliding ants have an 85% chance of landing successfully on the same tree, as compared to 5% if they were simply parachuting like normal ants.
2. Flying Phalangers
For those who don’t know, the phalangers are apparently an Australian subfamily of possum. Flying phalangers are small (about 400 mm, counting the tail) and have folds of loose skin which help them to glide from tree to tree by jumping and holding out their limbs spread-eagle. They also have flat tails which that they use as rudders while gliding. They are able to glide through the air for up to 140 meters. The most famous flying phalanger is the sugar glider.
3. Flying Lemurs
Although called the flying lemurs, these animals can not fly and are not true lemurs; they glide and are comparable to the very large squirrels or the medium-sized possums. Flying lemurs are able to glide long distances between trees using their gliding membrane of skin that extends between their limbs and is as large as is geometrically possible. Unlike other gliding mammals, flying lemurs even have the spaces between the fingers and toes webbed to increase the total surface area (like in the wings of bats). They are know to be bad climbers but they are extremely maneuverable and able to glide over 70 meters from tree to tree with minimal loss of height. There are only two species of flying lemurs in the world – the Philippine flying lemur and the Sunda flying lemur.
4. Flying Snakes
The flying snake is a species of snake that can be found in Southeast Asia, India, southernmost China and Sri Lanka. Although the flying snakes are mildly venomous, they are considered harmless because their poison is not dangerous to humans. Flying snakes can’t really fly since they can’t actually gain altitude. They are gliders that use the speed of the fall and contortions of their bodies to catch the air and generate lift. Before the take-off, a flying snake will dangle on the end of a branch in a J shape. It propels itself from the branch with the lower half of its body, forms her body quickly into an S shape, and flattens to about twice its normal width, giving its body a concave C shape, which can trap air. The snake can make turns by undulating back and forth.
5. Flying Lizards
There are around 30 species of lizard of the genus Draco (also known as Flying Dragons) found in Sri Lanka, India, and Southeast Asia. These lizards can glide for over 60 m and over this distance they lose 10 m in height, which is quite some distance, since one of these lizards is only around 20 cm long. The flying lizards have ability to extend the ribs and their connecting membrane in order to create a wing. They also have flattened and wing-like hindlimbs, and a small set of flaps on their neck that serve them as a horizontal stabilizer. These lizards live in trees but nest on the forest floor and only time a flying lizard ventures to the ground is when a female is ready to lay her eggs.
6. Flying squirrels
The flying squirrel glides from trees using its two furry membranes that are loosely stretched between its wrists and ankles, and act as a parachute to support the squirrel while jumping. The squirrel also has a flat, furry tail which it uses as an air brake before landing on a tree trunk. The squirrel uses both its membrane and tail to steer left and right, and even to make turns of 180 degrees. The flying squirrels are one of the best gliding animals since they can glide up to 90 meters from trees.
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