Somali Bushbaby
Encyclopedia
The Somali bushbaby, or the Somali lesser galago, as it is also known, is a species of nocturnal, arboreal primate
in the Galagidae family. It is found in Ethiopia
, Kenya
, and Somalia
. It is threatened by habitat loss.
in 1901, it was later classified as one of the many subspecies of the Senegal lesser galago
Galago senegalensis. T.R. Olson, in his Ph.D. thesis in 1979, and his paper of 1986, raised it once again to the status of a separate species, which reclassification has not been disputed by other academics. The Somali lesser galago is considered to be a monotypic
species, i.e. no subspecies have been defined.
The galago's face and throat are whitish while the ears, eye-rings, muzzle and tail are black or dark brown providing a distinctive contrast. The galago has a pale belly with particolored hair, which is Grey for most of its length except for its tip which is buff in color, resulting in the galago looking sand-colored by day and grayish by night.
G. gallarum is sympatric with G, senegalensis but is differentiated in the measurements of hind limb, hind foot, ear and tail-length. In the field, the general appearance, call and preferred habitat aid in discriminating between them. The Kenyan coast galago G. cocos is another species the range of which overlaps the southern margin of the Somali galago's range in Kenya and Somalia. Both these galagoes have calls distinct from that of the Somali galago and occupy moister habitats. The ears of these galagoes appear Grey and brown respectively with a pink patch visible in front of the lower ear.
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
in the Galagidae family. It is found in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Distribution
The Somali Bushbaby is found in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Unlike other galagos, it is endemic to the thorny woodland/scrub and semi-arid thorn scrub which covers large tracts of south-western Ethiopia, Kenya (except for the coastal strip, semi-desert region east of Lake Turkana, and area east of Lake Victoria), and in Somalia from Odweina near the Red sea southward to the border with Kenya.Taxonomy
First described by Oldfield ThomasOldfield Thomas
Oldfield Thomas FRS was a British zoologist.Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and sub-species for the first time. He was appointed to the Museum Secretary's office in 1876, transferring to the Zoological Department in 1878...
in 1901, it was later classified as one of the many subspecies of the Senegal lesser galago
Senegal Bushbaby
The Senegal bushbaby , also known as the Senegal galago, the lesser galago or the lesser bush baby, is a small, nocturnal primate, a member of the galago family Galagidae....
Galago senegalensis. T.R. Olson, in his Ph.D. thesis in 1979, and his paper of 1986, raised it once again to the status of a separate species, which reclassification has not been disputed by other academics. The Somali lesser galago is considered to be a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
species, i.e. no subspecies have been defined.
Description
The Somali lesser galago is a medium-sized galago with overall length of adult males as 415 to 464 mm (16.3 to 18.3 in) and average length of 436 millimetres (17.2 in) while that of the female is 380 to 442 mm (15 to 17.4 in) with average length of 413 millimetres (16.3 in) . The average tail length is 259 millimetres (10.2 in) for males while it is 246 millimetres (9.7 in) for females. The mean hind foot length is 67 millimetres (2.6 in) for males while it is 63 millimetres (2.5 in) for females. Likewise, the mean ear lengths for male and female are 35 millimetres (1.4 in) and 34 millimetres (1.3 in) respectively.The galago's face and throat are whitish while the ears, eye-rings, muzzle and tail are black or dark brown providing a distinctive contrast. The galago has a pale belly with particolored hair, which is Grey for most of its length except for its tip which is buff in color, resulting in the galago looking sand-colored by day and grayish by night.
G. gallarum is sympatric with G, senegalensis but is differentiated in the measurements of hind limb, hind foot, ear and tail-length. In the field, the general appearance, call and preferred habitat aid in discriminating between them. The Kenyan coast galago G. cocos is another species the range of which overlaps the southern margin of the Somali galago's range in Kenya and Somalia. Both these galagoes have calls distinct from that of the Somali galago and occupy moister habitats. The ears of these galagoes appear Grey and brown respectively with a pink patch visible in front of the lower ear.