Ordinary Galagos
| Ordinary Galagos | ||||||||||||
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Senegal Galago ( Galago senegalensis ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Galago | ||||||||||||
| É. Geoffroy , 1796 |
The common Galagos ( Galago ) are a primate genus from the family of the Galagos (Galagonidae), in which four medium-sized Galago species are placed today, although it is not clear whether these are really closely related. The genus was originally a collective genus for all smaller galago species. Today the dwarf galagos ( Galagoides ) and the squirrel galagos ( Sciurocheirus ) are regarded as separate genera. Common Galagos occur in tropical Africa from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia , Kenya and Tanzania in the east and the north of South Africa ( Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces ) in the south. They are absent in the tropical rainforest, the habitat of the squirrel galagos.
description
Ordinary Galagos are small primates and a little more powerfully built than the dwarf galagos. They reach head and torso lengths of 13 to 21 centimeters, a tail length of 20 to 30 centimeters and a weight of 112 to 300 grams. From the dwarf galagos differ in their skull and tooth morphology. Your back is gray or brown. The head is round, the muzzle short. The eyes are large and surrounded by a dark mask. There is a light, vertical stripe on the nose. The tail hair is not dense. All Common Galagos are good jumpers, landing foot first.
Way of life
Common Galagos are found in forests, tree savannahs and thick bushes. Their habitat is characterized by acacias and trees of the genera Brachystegia , Commiphora and Isoberlinia , and in southern Africa also by Mopane . All species feed primarily on insects and, especially in the dry season, also consume plant sap. Other small animals and fruits are less important for their diet and are usually only more important in certain areas or at certain times of the year. Tree hollows serve as resting places where there are no fork branches, old bird nests or self-made leaf nests. They mark their territories with urine. The females usually give birth to one or two young once or twice a year after a gestation period of about 130 days. The young grow quickly, leave the nest after about two weeks and become independent at about two months of age.
species
Four species are currently (as of June 2015) placed in the genus Galago :
- Somalia galago ( Galago gallarum )
- Spectacle galago ( Galago matschiei )
- Moholi-Galago or Southern Galago ( Galago moholi )
- Senegal Galago or Northern Galago ( Galago senegalensis )
literature
- Jonathan Kingdon : Genus Galago Lesser Galagos In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume II: Primates pp. 424–425, Bloomsbury, London, 2013 ISBN 978-1-4081-2252-5
