Galagoides demidovii
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
Galagoides
Galagoides demidovii

description: 1.
Demidoff’s Dwarf Galago
Galagoides demidovii
French: Galago de Demidoff / German: Demidoff-Zwerggalago / Spanish: Galago pequeno de Demidoff
Other common names: Demidoff's Dwarf Bushbaby, Prince Demidoff's Bushbaby; Bioko Dwarf Galago (poensis), Calabar Dwarf Galago (murinus), Congo Dwarf Galago (anomurus), Kasai Dwarf Galago (phasma), Uele Dwarf Galago (medius)
Taxonomy. Galago demidovii Fischer, 1806,
Senegal.
Fairly well-demarcated “foxy-red” and “reddish-gray” morphs of G. demidovii occur throughout West Africa. In Central Africa, lighter and darker morphs appear to take their place. In general, grayer animals are larger in size, and the head is narrow, with large forward-facing eyes and a pointed, upturned muzzle with a prominent white nose stripe. There is slight sexual dimorphism in body size. Color of underparts also varies greatly by locality. An as-yet undescribed variety from the vicinity of Mount Cameroon is known only from a few museum specimens. It is gray with a contrastingly redder mid-dorsal region, creamy-yellow underparts, and black eye-rings. Another large grayish-red form, known from two specimens taken from Lake Oku in the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon, is morphologically quite distinct and likely represents a separate species. A particularly small, undescribed form with a most distinctive dark red tail occurs in Okomu National Park, Nigeria (where the nominates subspecies demidovii and G. thomasi are also found). G. demidovii has 58 chromosomes. There are likely a far greater number of distinct taxa, but more research is needed. Six subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
G. d. demidoviiFischer, 1806 — WAfricafromSenegaltoNigeria (WNigerRiver); notconfirmedinGuinea, Guinea-Bissau, andMali.
G. d. anomurusdePousargues, 1893 — Cameroon (SSanagaRiver), CentralAfrican. Republic, EquatorialGuinea, Gabon, RepublicoftheCongo, DRCongo (NCongoRiver).
G. d. mediusThomas, 1915 — NEDRCongo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, andNWTanzania.
G. d. murinusMurray, 1859 — Nigeria (ENigerRiver) toNWCameroon.
G. d. phasmaCabrera & Ruxton, 1926 — DRCongo (SofCongoRiver), WUganda, andNAngola.
G. d. poensis Thomas, 1904 — endemic to Bioko I.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 12-17 cm, tail 14-22 cm; weight 55-100 g. Demidoff’s Dwarf Galago is a wide-ranging and highly variable species. The tail is long and nonbushy. Pelage color ranges by locality from dark maroon, gingery reddish-brown, dark reddish-brown, reddish-gray, or yellow-gray above with reddish-yellow, grayish-white, creamy yellow, or creamy-white underparts. The neck sometimes has a grayish contrast, and the tail can be a deeper red-brown. Eye-rings can be brownish or black, and the mid-facial stripe white or yellow toned. The nominate subspecies demidovii is reddishgray above with reddish-yellow or creamy-white underparts. Its eye-rings are brownish, and its mid-facial stripe is yellow toned. Size range runs from fairly large to very small. The “Calabar Dwarf Galago ” (G. d. murinus) is deep maroon or reddish-brown above. Its eye-rings are black, and the mid-facial stripe is white. The “Bioko Dwarf Galago ” (G. d. poensis) is a small reddish-brown taxon. The “Congo Dwarf Galago ” (G. d. anomurus) is a large variety, with pelage ranging from yellow-gray to dark maroon above and grayish-white to creamy-yellow below. The “Kasai Dwarf Galago ” (G. d. phasma) is generally dark reddish-brown; a wide size range indicates that at least two distinct taxa may actually be represented. The “Uele Dwarf Galago ” (G. d. medius) is gingery-reddish-brown dorsally, sometimes with a contrasting grayish neck. The underside is creamy-yellow, and the tail is a deeper red-brown. At least two different taxa of the Uele Dwarf Galago are represented, one large and the other small. The large type is gingery-red-brown on the back (contrasting with the grayer tone of the neck), creamy-yellow below;its tail is a deeper red-brown. The small type is a deeper red-brown above without the contrasting gray neck and with a deeper yellow underside and deeper red tail. Throughout West Africa, there also are a numberof fairly well-demarcated foxy-red and reddish-gray morphs, while in Central Africa, lighter and darker morphs appear to take their place. In general, grayer animals are larger. Given this considerable variation in coloration and size, additional distinct taxa likely will be described; however, pelage can also be variable within populations so species’ descriptions cannot be based on pelage alone.
Habitat. Demidoft’s Dwarf Galago is found in a broad range of forest types from primary and secondary rainforest, to evergreen, deciduous and semi-deciduous,littoral, marsh, gallery, savanna, and montane forest up to 1600 m above sea level. They are usually found below 5 m in the forest strata, with a preference for the understory below 10 m; they will even use the ground but can be found as high as 12 m. Demidoff’s Dwarf Galago is mainly associated with the understory of secondary forest and forest edge habitats. It is also present in primary tropical moist forest, particularly in tree-fall zones, logged forest, roadsides, and cultivated areas. It is generally restricted to dense undergrowth with fine branches.
Food and Feeding. Demidoff’s Dwarf Galago has an insectivore-frugivore diet, with roughly three-quarters consisting of invertebrates such as insects (mostly small beetles and nocturnal moths) and snails, along with the occasional tree frog. The remainder of its diet is made up offruits, unripe nuts, young leaves, buds, and exudates. Prey is detected by hearing and sight rather than by smell, and prey is snatched with one or both hands. Individuals can acrobatically feed by hanging bipedally while hunting.
Breeding. Mating is prolonged, lasting up to an hour, and takes place while a pairis suspended beneath a branch. Births occur throughout the year in Gabon, but numbers seem to reach a peak in January-April. In Central Africa, mating is known to take place in September—October and January-February. Gestation varies by region, being 110-129 days (111-114 days on average), after which usually one but sometimes two offspring are born. Females normally breed only once a year. Birth weight is 5-10 g. The mother takes the infant out of the nest when it is a few days old, leaves it hidden in vegetation while she forages during the night, and carries it in her mouth back to the nest in the morning. After about a month infants are able to follow the mother, but they arestill carried on occasion. Infants that are unable to leap across a gap after their mother emita call; the female returns, picks up andjumps with her infant. Weaning occurs after aboutsix weeks. Juveniles are much darker in color than adults. When interacting with adults, young hold their tail in a corkscrew position, which prevents them from being attacked. They are independent at 90 days and fully mature by 8-10 months. Individuals can live 12-13 years in captivity.
Activity patterns. Demidoft’s Dwarf Galagos are fully nocturnal and almost exclusively arboreal. They make rapid, darting movements while running and leaping. When leaping, they push off with hindlimbs and land forelimbs first.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Demidoff’s Dwarf Galago is mainly solitary. The male’s territory (0-5-2-7 ha) overlaps those of several females (each 0-6 1-4 ha). Males maintain territories for 1-3 years. Matriarchies are present. Individuals sleep either in a spherical nest that they construct out of dense vegetation or in an abandoned squirrel nest. The oval-shaped leaf nests are also used for giving birth; such nests are found more often during the wet season. Males sleep alone, but females sleep in groups of 2-5 (occasionally up to ten). Adult males are aggressive toward one another and seem to be territorial. Adults of opposite sexes, however, may share the same area, sometimes sleep together by day, and have some contact at night even though they forage separately. Because each male seeks to control an area that overlaps home ranges of several females, intense competition among males may result. Field research has distinguished four categories of males. The heaviest males (averaging 75 g) have large home ranges that include at least one female’s home range and often are in a central position overlapping a number of female ranges. Home ranges of several such males converge at a common point of slight overlap, where interaction occurs. The lightest males (averaging 56 g) are tolerated within the ranges of the heavy males and have small home ranges of their own. Medium-sized males (averaging 61 g) occupy relatively large home ranges but on the periphery of female ranges. These males may associate with other peripheral males and eventually may gain weight and shift into a central position. The last category, nomadic males, includes mostly young animals that do not remain long in any one area. Males leave their natal area at puberty. Demidoff’s Dwarf Galago has a distinctive loud call repertoire. These are long crescendos that increase in volume, speed, and pitch, given once or twice and used for contact, spacing, and gathering. Chirps are given in short phrases in the context of mild alarm. An explosive buzz is used for contact avoidance. Very rapid chirps that speed up and slow down are used when individuals are highly alarmed.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Only the subspecies poensis on Bioko Island has a restricted distribution. Otherwise, Demidoff’s Dwarf Galago is widespread and notably resilient to human pressure. It occurs in numerous protected areas: Dja Biosphere Reserve and Korup National Park in Cameroon; Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of the Congo; Kahuzi-Biéga and Salonga national parks and Tayna Gorilla Reserve in the DR Congo; Monte Alen National Park in Equatorial Guinea; Bia, Kakum, Kyabobo, and Nini-Suhien national parks and Ankasa and Bia reserves in Ghana; Tai National Park in Ivory Coast; Sapo National Park in Liberia; Cross River and Okomu national parks, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Akpaka, Ilaro, and Sapoba forest reserves, and Mamu River Forest Reserve in Nigeria; Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Sierra Leone; and Bwindi-Impenetrable Forest, Kibale Forest, and Queen Elizabeth national parks in Uganda. It also occurs in the proposed Mount Kupe Forest Reserve (Cameroon) and probably in most of 13 recently created parks in Gabon.
Bibliography. Ambrose (1999), Blackwell (1969b), Charles-Dominique (1972, 1977a), Charles-Dominique & Bearder (1979), Dulaney (1987), Dutrillaux et al. (1982), Hill (1947, 1953d), Honess & Bearder (1996), Lawrence & Washburn (1936), Napier & Napier (1967, 1985), Oates (2011), Olson (1979), Olson & Nash (2003), Pitts (1988), Stanyon et al. (1992), Vincent (1969), Wickings et al. (1998).
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 page 197, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6657019