Otolemur crassicaudatus
Creators: name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Anthony B. Rylands
name: Don E. Wilson
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Galagidae
Otolemur
Otolemur crassicaudatus

description: 17.
Thick-tailed Greater Galago
Otolemur crassicaudatus
French: Galago a queue touffue / German: Gro 3ohr-Riesengalago / Spanish: Galago mayor de cola gruesa
Other common names: Brown Greater Galago, Garnett's Greater Galago, Greater Bushbaby, Greater Galago, Largeeared Greater Galago, Thick-tailed Bushbaby; Miombo Silver Galago (monteiri); Northern Silver Galago (argentatus), South African Thick-tailed Galago (crassicaudatus), Tanganyika Thick-Tailed Galago (kirkii)
Taxonomy. Galago crassicaudatus E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812,
South Africa, Natal, Ngoye Forest, 15 km east of Eshowe, 28° 52’ S, 31° 37’ E.
Some experts consider the subspecies monteiri and argentatus to be distinct species. The forms monteiri and kirkii hybridize in northern Mozambique and Zimbabwe, while the form crassicaudatus intergrades with monteiri in central Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. Some taxonomic authorities argue that the subspecies monteiri can be split into two groups with the monteiri group present from Angola through the southern DR Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, northern Mozambique, Malawi, and southern Tanzania (Tabora). The distribution of the argentatus group is unclear, but it has been recorded from Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania. The review by P. Grubb and coworkers in 2003 regarded monteiri to be a valid species and divided it into two subspecies: monteiri and argentatus. Further research is clearly needed to verify the distinctiveness of monteiri from crassicaudatus at the species level. Patterns ofcalling in the two forms are almost identical, but morphology, including that of the penis, shows some variation. The subspecies monteiri is widely sympatric with O. garnettii in north-eastern and south-eastern Tanzania. Four subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
O. c. crassicaudatusE. GeoffroySaint-Hilaire, 1812 — SMozambique (SoftheLimpopoRiver), SouthAfrica (Limpopo, Transvaal & NKwazulu-Natal), andSwaziland.
O. c. argentatusLonnberg, 1913 — KenyaandTanzaniaaroundtheE & SEshoreofLakeVictoriaandpossiblyRwanda.
O. c. kirkiiGray, 1865 — Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, andSouthAfrica (NorthernandTransvaalprovinces).
O. c. monteiri Bartlett in Gray, 1863 — Uganda, Burundi, S & E DR Congo, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, N Malawi, N Mozambique, and Botswana.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 26-40 cm,tail 30-50 cm; weight 1.1-1.8 kg (males) and 1.2-1.5 kg (females). The Thick-tailed Greater Galago is the largest of the galagos. It is silvery-gray to brown above, with the face paler than the forehead. The tail is invariably long and bushy; the muzzle is long, broad, and dog-like; and ears are notably large, naked, membranous, and mobile. Face markings are indistinct or absent. Hindfeet are shortened, and distal ends of the nails are normally convex. Males are larger than females. The “South African Thick-tailed Galago ” (O. c. crassicaudatus) is buffy on the mid-back and tail, with grayer flanks and a pale forehead. The underside is creamy. Hands and feet are dark except for the digits, and the tail is dark on the tip. Tail length is ¢.120-130% of the head—body length. The “Tanganyika Thick-Tailed Galago ™ (O. c. kirkii) is brown to brownish-gray above and creamy (with slight yellowing) on the underside. The tail is light brown, and hands and feet are not very dark. The “Miombo Silver Galago ” (O. c. monteiri) is very large, with notably long ears. It is pale silvery above and on the tail, with a grayish-white or creamy-yellow underside. Forehead is brown, and hands and feet are dark. The “Northern Silver Galago ” (O. c¢. argentatus) is generally similar to the Miombo Silver Galago, but more grayish and with a darker forehead. The face is notably long, with a broad muzzle. Thetail is often nearly white, and hands and feet are dark. Melanistic (all black) individuals are quite common.
Habitat. Gallery, light coastal, and montane forest, also savanna woodland (miombo, Brachystegia) and bamboo thickets. The Thick-tailed Greater Galago has adapted to farmland and garden orchards, timber plantations, and wattle forests. It occurs up to 1800 m above sea level in eastern Zimbabwe. It prefers the upperlevels of the canopy (4-12 m). The subspecies monteiri is known from Brachystegia woodlands and riparian forests. It extends over a wide range by using corridors of vegetation along rivers and streams. The subspecies kirkii is mostly found in coastal forest, woodland, and riparian brushland; in the northern parts of the distribution, it extends into brushland and open woodland. It is not uncommon in urban gardens and farmland if there is sufficient tree growth to provide shelter and orchards of tropical and semi-tropical fruits.
Food and Feeding. The Thick-tailed Greater Galago eats insects, fruit, and gum in varying proportions depending on whereit occurs. At somesites,it is a gummivore (62% gum, 33% fruit, and 5% insects), but at others,it is more insectivorous (59% insects and 41% gum). Social feeding occurs, and individuals move and feed as a group when large trees are in fruit. Despite patchiness of gum and well-known and defendable pathwaysto its sources, Thick-tailed Greater Galagos tend to travel to them and feed on them alone;trees providing gum are important to them during cold periods. Other items consumed include flowers, seeds, nectar, millipedes, termites, fish, birds, hardshelled and woody dried fruits, and arthropods from the orders Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Odonata, Chilopoda, Isoptera, and Diplopoda.
Breeding. Estrus last 3-5 days. Mating seems to be seasonal. Copulation is prolonged and can last 45 minutes. Births have been recorded in August-November. Normally two (sometimes three and rarely one or four) offspring are born per year in a nest that is relined just before birth. Gestation is 126-135 days. The mother carries her young in her mouth at first, and later on her back. Infant cannibalism by the mother has been reported. Weaning takes place at 70-134 days. Sexual maturity occurs at 18-24 months. An individual lived for 14 years in the New York (Bronx) Zoo, USA.
Activity patterns. The Thick-tailed Greater Galago is nocturnal and arboreal. Its locomotory pattern is mainly quadrupedal. Because of their large size, they are more monkey-like in their locomotion and generally walk or run atop broad, horizontal supports or on the ground (sometimes over 100 m). They can produce impressive leaps of up to 3 m and hop along the ground.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Thick-tailed Greater Galago is the most gregarious of all the galagos, often occurring in small, stable family groups of 2-6. Groups often are an adult pair with or without young, two adult females plus infants, or an adult female with young. Matriarchies are present, and it is possible that they have complex social networks. Males sleep alone; females sleep with their offspring in groups of 2-6. Although adult females make a nest of leaves when they give birth, the most common sleeping site is a dense tangle of creepers or, occasionally, tree hollows or a flat leaf platform, c¢.5-12 m from the ground. Thick-tailed Greater Galagos are also known to inhabit caves and roof spaces in human dwellings. Groups sleep together by day, but members split up at nightto forage. Adults can be territorial, with group territories overlapping only to a small degree. Nevertheless, the home range of a male (c.10 ha) may overlap extensively with those of several females (c.7 ha). Males fight one another to secure control over such areas. Social grooming is quite common, as is play among youngsters. Social play, locomotory play, and object play occur among Thick-tailed Greater Galagos. In South Africa, nocturnal activity lasts from nine-and-ahalf hours in summer to about twelve hours in winter, with a rest period in the middle of the night. Individuals move over a distance of c.1 km/night.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List; the subspecies argentatus has not been evaluated. The Thick-tailed Greater Galago is widespread and generally abundant. Some populations are reported to be expanding their distribution (e.g. in South Africa), while in other areas (e.g. around Lake Victoria), they are disappearing because of habitat loss. It occurs in numerous protected areas in Angola, DR Congo, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Bibliography. Anderson (1998, 2000), Ansell (1960), Bearder (1974, 1987), Bearder & Doyle (1974b), Bearder et al. (1995), Buettner-Janusch (1964), Bullard (1984), Clark (1978a, 1978b, 1982a, 1982b, 1985, 1988), Coe & Isaac (1965), Constantino (2001), Crompton (1983, 1984), Dixson (1976, 1995, 1998), Dixson & Van Horn (1977), Doyle (1979), Doyle & Bearder (1977), Eaglen & Simons (1980), Eaton et al. (1973), Ejidike & Okosodo (2007), Happold & Happold (1992), Harcourt (1980, 1986b), Katsir & Crewe (1980), Kingdon (1997), Mainoya & Urasa (1982), Masters (1986, 1988, 1991), Masters & Lubinsky (1988), Masters, Lumsden & Young (1988), Masters, Stanyon & Romagno (1987), Montagna & Yun Jeung-Soon (1962a), Napier & Napier (1967), Nash & Weisenseel (2000), Nash et al. (1989), Olson (1979), Pasztor & Van Horn (1977), Pinto et al. (1974), Poorman (1982), Randolph (1971), Roberts (1971), Rosenson (1972, 1973), Skinner & Smithers (1990), Tartabini (1991), Welker (1973, 1976).
description: Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Galagidae, pp. 184-209 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 207-208, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6657019