The greater galagos or thick-tailed bushbabies are three species of

strepsirrhine Strepsirrhini or Strepsirhini (; ) is a suborder of primates that includes the lemuriform primates, which consist of the lemurs of Madagascar, galagos ("bushbabies") and pottos from Africa, and the lorises from India and southeast Asia. Collec ...

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s. They are classified in the genus ''Otolemur'' in the family

Galagidae Galagos , also known as bush babies, or ''nagapies'' (meaning "night monkeys" in Afrikaans), are small nocturnal primates native to continental, sub-Sahara Africa, and make up the family Galagidae (also sometimes called Galagonidae). They are ...

Historical classification and species discovery

The diversity of galago species has historically been grossly underestimated. In 1931, only 5 species were recognized, 4 in the genus ''Galago'' and 1 in ''Euoticus'', and only one species that would later be placed in the genus ''Otolemur''. In 1979, the genus ''Otolemur'' was separated from ''Galago''. By 1986, eleven species were recognized with revamped systemic classification including ''Otolemur crassicaudatus'' and ''Otolemur garnettii''. Additionally, ''O. crassidautus'' and ''O. monteiri'' were recognized as separate species instead of ''O. monteiri'' as a nested subspecies. By 2001, 23 species were recognized. Classification by vocalization has particularly become prevalent and helpful as a tool in understanding of these species. All ''Otolemur'' species exhibit trailing advertising calls.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found in and around coastal regions of Southern and Southeastern Africa; north from the

Juba River The Jubba River or Juba River ( so, Wabiga Jubba) is a river in southern Somalia which flows through the autonomous region of Jubaland. It begins at the border with Ethiopia, where the Dawa and Ganale Dorya rivers meet, and flows directly south ...

in Somalia, southwards through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique; west across Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana; southwest to northern South Africa and as far west as Angola and Namibia. For the most part, they live in woodlands and forests, but also are found in sparsely wooded grasslands and even planted city parks and gardens.

Taxonomy

*Genus ''Otolemur'' **

Brown greater galago The brown greater galago (''Otolemur crassicaudatus''), also known as the large-eared greater galago or thick-tailed galago, is a nocturnal animal, nocturnal primate, the largest in the family of galagos. As opposed to smaller galago species it w ...

, ''O. crassicaudatus'' *** ''O. c. crassicaudatus'' *** ''O. c. kirkii'' **

Silvery greater galago The silvery greater galago (''Otolemur monteiri'') is a nocturnal primate from the galago family. It is usually found in ''Brachystegia'' woodland, from Angola to Tanzania, western Kenya and Rwanda. The species was separated from the brown great ...

, ''O. monteiri'' *** ''O. m. monteiri'' *** ''O. m. argentatus'' **

Northern greater galago The northern greater galago (''Otolemur garnettii''), also known as Garnett's greater galago, Garnett's galago, or the small-eared greater galago, is a nocturnal, arboreal primate endemic (ecology), endemic to Africa. Subspecies Four subspecies ...

, ''O. garnettii'' *** ''O. g. garnettii'' *** ''O. g. lasiotis'' *** ''O. g. kikuyuensis'' *** ''O. g. panganiensis''

References

External links

Primate Info Net ''Otolemur'' Factsheets

animalstaita.com
Galagos Taxa named by Charles Coquerel Taxa described in 1859 {{primate-stub