Patagium
Encyclopedia
- In batBatBats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, the skinSkin-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
forming the surface of the wing. It is an extension of the skin of the abdomen that runs to the tip of each digit, uniting the forelimb with the body. - The patagium of a bat has four distinct parts:
- Propatagium: the patagium present from the neck to the first digit.
- Dactylopatagium: the portion found within the digits.
- Plagiopatagium: the portion found between the last digit and the hindlimbs.
- Uropatagium: the anterior portion of the body between the two hindlimbs.
- In the extinct flying pterosaurPterosaurPterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
s, also the skin forming the surface of the wing. In these creatures the skin was extended to the tip of the very long fourth finger of each hand. - The patagium of a pterosaur had three distinct parts:
- Propatagium: the patagium present from the shoulder to the wrist.
- Brachiopatagium: the portion stretching from the fourth finger to the hindlimbs.
- Uropatagium or cruropatagium: the anterior portion between the two hindlimbs, depending on whether it did or did not include the tail.
- In glidingFlying and gliding animalsA number of animals have evolved aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or by gliding. Flying and gliding animals have evolved separately many times, without any single ancestor. Flight has evolved at least four times, in the insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats. Gliding has evolved on many...
species, such as some lizardLizardLizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, rodentRodentRodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s and other mammals, the flat parachuteParachuteA parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
-like extension of skin that catches the air, allowing them to glide.
- In some lepidopteraLepidopteraLepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
ns, one of a pair of small sensory organs situated at the bases of the anterior wings.
- In birds, the fold of skin extending from the humerusHumerusThe humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
to the carpal jointCarpusIn tetrapods, the carpus is the sole cluster of bones in the wrist between the radius and ulna and the metacarpus. The bones of the carpus do not belong to individual fingers , whereas those of the metacarpus do. The corresponding part of the foot is the tarsus...
, making up the leading edge of the wing.