OBSERVATIONS ON THE VOMERONASAL ORGAN OF THE COLUGO CYNOCEPHALUS (MAMMALIA, DERMOPTERA)

This paper presents the first description of a functional vomeronasal organ in the colugo or 'flying lemur' Cynocephalus, the sole living re presentative of the order Dermoptera (Mammalia). The vomeronasal organ complex comprises patent nasopalatine and vomeronasal ducts, a 10-mm- long epithelial tube consisting of an 8- to 10-cell thick, 65-mu m-tal l neurosensory epithelium, the vomeronasal nerve, and the accessory ol factory bulb. The vomeronasal glands are sparse. Among mammals, the vo meronasal organ of the colugo is one of the relatively longest, at nea rly 48% of nasal cavity length. It is exceeded among archontans (colug os, bats, primates, and tree shrews) only by that of the strepsirhine primate Microcebus murinus.