An Exploration Of Animals That Take Flight In The Most Unusual Ways
We have all heard the phrase ‘pigs might fly’ to describe deep scepticism about a fanciful idea or event that is very unlikely to happen. The object used to convey the deep scepticism in this phrase is a heavy, wingless land animal about as far away from a graceful bird or bat as you can get. But while pigs might be unlikely to fly, that doesn’t mean that all wingless animals can’t fly, for at least a while. In fact, there are quite a few that can fly, or glide that might just surprise you!
We take a look at some of the many wingless animals that fly, from land and water, in some form or fashion.
11 Wingless Animals That Fly
Devil Rays (Genus: Mobula)
Rays, are some of the most easily recognizable, flat and distinctive fish, that encompass over 500 species across 4 orders, under the class ‘Chondrichthyes‘. In one of these orders, ‘Myliobatiformes‘ you can find the family ‘mobulidae‘, and the genus ‘mobula‘, in which there are 11 distinct species of devil rays and manta rays. These are large rays, that unlike those that exist in the other three orders, don’t live on the sea floor, but in the open ocean.
Devil Rays make up 9 of the species in the Genus and the nominal species is the Giant Devil Ray (Mobula mobular). A few of these species – including the giant devil ray, Munk’s devil ray and the lesser Guinean devil ray, have been known to leap out of the water covering some distance, with speeds of up to 40 km/hour.
While they can’t maintain sustained flight like a bird or a bat, they make quite an impression leaping out the water, high into the air. Lifting their sides gracefully like wings before slapping their flat bodies back into the water on return to the waves.
Japanese Flying Squid (Todarodes Pacificus)
Another sea creature that loves to take flight out of the water, is the Japanese Flying Squid. There are a few species of flying squid but the Japanese, also known as the Pacific flying squid has the most striking appearance and display of behaviour. Their wing shaped mantle houses two pectoral fins, that rather than providing propulsion. help the squid to glide when they take flight.
They use the same method of propulsion under water that they do when above, which is to take in water at one end of their body and eject it from the other, creating a kind of ‘jet’ propulsion. Using this method, and their pectoral fins, the Japanese flying squid has been known to cover distances up to 30 meters at a height of up to 3.5 meters above the water. They have been sighted taking flight alone as well as in large groups.
Flying Squirrels (Tribe: Pteromyini)
There are around 50 species of flying squirrel in the world, from two specific tribes called Pteromyini and Petauristini (sometimes considered to be one and the same tribe). While these squirrels can’t perform sustained flight, they have mastered the ability to glide, and only squirrels from these tribes have mastered this ability.
The features that allows them to glide is a furry membrane called the patagium. This membrane is like a flap of skin and connects their wrists to their ankles. As they leap from a tree and open their limbs out wide, the patagium opens up like a square and acts like a hang glider.
If you ever wondered where the idea for the wingsuit for base jumping comes from, the flying squirrel surely gave inspiration to the idea. It is a feature still studied today, and replicated in wing tunnels to explore avenues to improve flight.
One other peculiar trait that some flying squirrels have that non flying squirrels don’t, is that under UV light, some will fluoresce the color pink. All of the North American flying squirrels do this, and it’s not clear why, or what evolutionary advantage this gives them.
Flying Fish (Family: Exocoetidae)
There are around 64 species of flying fish in the family ‘exocoetidae‘, across a number of genera. While many fish may be able to leap or jump out of water, flying fish from this family look as if they were almost designed for the air. Almost.
Some flying fish can glide for distances up to 1300 feet (400 meters) at speeds over 35 mph (56 km/h), though most flights are much shorter, around 50 meters. They evolved this ability to escape predators, such as mackerel, tuna, swordfish, and marlin. They have some unique features that allow them to carry out this flight. Particularly, it is modified pectoral fins that allow them to glide through the air. These fins open out wide like wings allowing them to glide for these long distances above the water.
While this ‘flight’ can help them escape underwater predators, it does leave them vulnerable to attack from above, particularly from frigate birds.
Flying Snakes Genus: Chrysopelea)
There are 5 species of flying snakes, all of them in the genus ‘Chrysopelea‘. These snakes are quite unique, in that they are the only limbless vertebrates with a spine that can glide or fly.
They achieve this by leaping upward from the end of a branch, sucking in their stomachs and expanding out its ribs to make a sort of wing. They shape their bodies so that this ‘wing’ is concave to maintain their glide for longer, and they crate lateral undulation to propel their bodies forward to their chosen destination. It is thought these snakes use their ability to glide to escape predators, find prey and to traverse difficult environments from the tree tops.
The smaller flying snakes are more skilled and competent than the larger species, with the paradise flying snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) being the best of them all.
Colugo (Family: Cynocephalidae)
Colugos are arboreal mammals native to Southeast Asia. They belong to the order Dermoptera and are also known as ‘flying lemurs.’ There are 2 extant genera and only one extant species in each of these – the Sunda and the Philippine flying lemur. Despite their name, Colugos are not actually related to lemurs, which are from the order of primates.
Although they are not capable of true flight, they have adaptations that allow them to glide long distances through the air. These adaptations include skin flaps that stretch between their tail, limbs and body, which they use to control the direction of their glides and to slow their descent. In flight, they can look similar to larger bats, like flying foxes (fruit bats).
By gliding, colugos are able to move from tree to tree without having to touch the ground, reducing the time and energy they need to spend on the forest floor, and evading potential ground predators. They are one of the best gliders, able to cover distances of up to 250 feet, whilst maintaining altitude!
Flying Lizards (Genus: Draco)
Flying lizards, also known as gliding lizards, are species in the genus ‘draco‘, of the family of ‘agamidae’ lizards native to the South of India and Southeast Asia, including many of the Indonesian islands.
These lizards are known for their ability to glide through the air for long distances, and while they can’t sustain this ‘flight’, they can generate lift, and travel distances of up to 200 feet while only marginally losing altitude.
They have skin flaps along their sides, called ‘patagia’ that they can extend and use to control their flight. They can manipulate these flaps with their limbs to adjust the angle and trajectory of their flight. They are masters at landing too. As with many other gliding animals, the smaller species tend to be better equipped for the air than larger species. There are over 41 different species of flying lizards in the genus of draco.
Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps)
Sugar gliders are small, omnivorous marsupials native to Australia and parts of New Guinea. While they are not related to flying squirrels, they share many similar habits, behaviours and features.
Similarly to flying lizards, the sugar glider has a flap of skin called a the patagia that extends from their front legs to their hind legs, allowing them to glide through the air. They use this ability to travel long distances in search of food and mates, as well as to avoid their many predators.
The sugar glider has a distinctive pale grey coat, with a black stripe stretching from its nose to about half way down its back. They get their name from the sweet diet that they have, particularly rich in sap and nectar.
Gliding Ants
Gliding ant species exist across at least 5 different genera, in many different areas of the globe. They were first discovered in Peru, in their favourite rainforest habitat. It is suggested that these distinct species evolved in parallel to each other in these different areas. These are not the same as fertile ‘alates’, or flying ants that are fertile ground ants that develop wings to set off and start their own colony.
These ants live in the tops of tree canopies, and employ a controlled glide to return them to their ‘home’ tree when they are shaken or fall from a branch. Some are better at gliding than others, but one common feature that most gliding ants share, is that they manipulate their bodies into a type of parachute, while navigating visually.
Most gliding ants are unconventional in that they glide abdomen first rather than head first. After freefalling for a few meters, they move their bodies into a J shape, similar to flying snakes. Once they have located their target destination, they use their ‘wing like’ abdomen to slow their decent and create their makeshift parachute. They lower their heads and use their hind legs to turn and adjust their trajectory.
Wallace’s Flying Frog/ Gliding Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus)
Wallace’s Flying Frog is a species of tree frog found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, particularly the Malay Peninsula. It is named after the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who discovered it in 1855.
It is best known for its ability to glide through the air by jumping off plants and using its large webbed hind feet and skin extensions along its sides and between its toes to create a parachute effect. These features allows the frog to cover distances of up to 15 meters (50 ft) in a single bound.
The webbing also serves to slow down the frog’s descent, making it possible for the frog to land safely on the ground even from high distances.
Kuhl’s Flying Gecko (Gekko kuhli)
Kuhl’s Flying Gecko, formerly known as Ptychozoon kuhli is a species of gecko native to Southeast Asia, particularly around Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. Under their previous taxonomical description, there were 13 known species. It is commonly referred to as a ‘flying gecko’ due to its ability to glide from tree to tree by extending its skin flaps between its legs, which it uses for gliding over long distances.
It is not actually capable of powered flight, but it does have the ability to control the direction of its glides, allowing it to land safely in the desired location. They are known to be able glide up to 200 feet (61 meters) from high up in the tree canopies, and use their characteristic flaps to control their descent. On approach to the ground, they prepare themselves for a soft landing with an upward swooping motion.