In Cynocephalus the membrane extends along the limbs to the tips of the fingers, toes, and tail. The arms, legs, and tail are long and slender. The feet are broad, and all digits are tipped with sharp, recurved claws. The head is broad, the ears are short, and the eyes are large. The skull is unique among mammals, showing many primitive characters.
Females have a single pair of mammae, located at the sides of the body, almost in the armpits.
The difference is that each lower incisor of Cynocephalus may have as many as 20 prongs radiating from one root, while in true lemurs each prong of the comb is a single tooth. The comb teeth of Cynocephalus may act as food strainers or as scrapers, or they may be used to groom the fur. They are totally arboreal, seldom if ever descending to the ground, where they are nearly helpless, cannot stand erect, and try to climb any object encountered. They are skillful, though slow, climbers, ascending unbranched vertical trunks in a series of lurches, with the head up and the limbs spread to grasp the tree. When moving about on branches, or while feeding, colugos are in an upside-down position.