COLUGO - Galeopithecus volans Flying Lemur Gliding 1883 Antique Engraving

This original 1883 wood engraving by Alfred Edmund Brehm presents the remarkable colugo (Galeopithecus volans), also known as the flying lemur, captured mid-glide through the dense foliage of a Southeast Asian rainforest. The engraving illustrates the colugo’s distinctive patagium—a skin membrane stretching from neck to tail and between the limbs—which allows for extraordinary gliding leaps between trees.

Native to the forests of Southeast Asia, colugos are nocturnal herbivores with exceptional climbing skills and are among the most skilled gliders in the animal kingdom, capable of spanning distances over 60 meters. This 6.75 x 9.75 inch plate, printed on paper with text on the reverse as issued, offers a dramatic view of this elusive and rarely depicted mammal. A rare and visually striking print for collectors of exotic zoology and 19th-century natural history.