The eastern dwarf galagos are a group of seven species of

strepsirrhine Strepsirrhini or Strepsirhini (; ) is a Order (biology), suborder of primates that includes the Lemuriformes, lemuriform primates, which consist of the lemurs of Fauna of Madagascar, Madagascar, galagos ("bushbabies") and pottos from Fauna of A ...

primate Primates are a diverse order (biology), order of mammals. They are divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include the Tarsiiformes, tarsiers and ...

s of 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 ...

, native to

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

. They were formerly classified in the genus ''

Galagoides The western dwarf galagos are a group of three species of strepsirrhine primates, native to western and central Africa. They are classified in the genus ''Galagoides'' of the family Galagidae. The eastern dwarf galagos (''P. cocos, P. granti, P. ...

'' but have been moved to their own genus, ''Paragalago'', based on genetic evidence, and supported by differences in vocalizations and morphology. The three western/Congolian species remain in ''Galagoides''. The most recently discovered species, the Rungwe dwarf galago, has yet to be formally named and described.Charles Foley, Lara Foley, Alex Lobora, Daniela De Luca, Maurus Msuha, Tim R.B. Davenport, Sarah M. Durant (2014). "A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania". Princeton University Press, 2014. The two genera are not

sister taxa In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

and thus apparently evolved their small sizes and some morphological similarities via

parallel evolution Parallel evolution is the similar development of a trait in distinct species that are not closely related, but share a similar original trait in response to similar evolutionary pressure.Zhang, J. and Kumar, S. 1997Detection of convergent and paral ...

, although members of the eastern group tend to be larger. They are separated by the

East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...

. ''Paragalago'' is actually sister to the genus of 'lesser galagos', ''

Galago 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 ...

'', which are similar in size. There is limited

sympatry In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species s ...

between ''Paragalago'' and the much more widely distributed ''Galago''. ''Paragalago'' members range in mass from 60 to 250 g, considered small to medium-sized among galagids. Of those whose conservation status has been evaluated by the IUCN, ''P. orinus'' is considered to be

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

and ''P. rondoensis'' to be critically endangered, while ''P. cocos'', ''P. granti'' and ''P. zanzibaricus'' are of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

. The Taita mountain dwarf galago, found in the

Taita Hills The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida Massif, Dawida, Sagalla Massif, Sagalla in the southern side of Vo ...

, is unclassified. Based on vocalizations, it may be the Kenya coast galago. These dwarf galagos are present in very small forest fragments and are in immediate danger of extinction.

''Paragalago'' species

* Kenya coast galago — ''P. cocos'' * Grant's bushbaby — ''P. granti'' * Malawi bushbaby — ''P. nyasae'' * Uluguru bushbaby — ''P. orinus'' * Rondo dwarf galago — ''P. rondoensis'' * Rungwe dwarf galago – ''P. sp. nov.'' * Zanzibar bushbaby — ''P. zanzibaricus''

External links

*More information about dwarf galagos of Taita Hills, Kenya on websit
animalstaita.com

IUCN Red List assessments of Paragalagos

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q31837388 Galagidae Galagos Primates of Africa Taxa described in 2017