Birds of prey, vipers, and humans all hunt this species as a source of food.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Galago demidoff is the smallest primate found in Africa. The head and body length is between 105 and 123 mm, and the tail is 150 to 205 mm long. Demidoff's bushbabies weigh between 46 and 88 gm. The color of the dorsal fur varies from bright gingery to gray-brown, whereas the fur on the ventrum is a paler tan. The ears are relatively short, un-furred, and mobile, and the nose is pointed and upturned. Demidoff's bushbabies have a distinct white stripe running between the eyes, down the nose.
The genus Galago is noted for its leaping ability. Both the length of the hind limbs, which are much longer than the forelimbs, and the elongation in the tarsal region in the foot, assist in locomotion. When running, the hind limbs of G. demidoff exert the most force, working to propel the body, while the fore limbs mainly provide support and stability. In the type of habitat these animals inhabit, this division between the limbs is necessary. The branches used by G. demidoff tend to be thin and unstable, which can throw an individual off balance. Thus it is necessary for these animals to use their forelimbs and long tails to maintain equilibrium. Keeping well balanced is important for these animals because they use running and leaping equally in their locomotion.
Vision in G. demidoff is very well developed, a trait that is essential in animals which rely on arboreal leaping. Galago demidoff can leap 1.5 to 2 meters between branches, without losing any height. Leaping allows rapid movement between locations, but requires a shock-absorbing mechanism. In G. demidoff, the forelimbs reach a substrate first and absorb most of the impact. This allows the hind limbs to quickly prepare to leap again.
Range mass: 46 to 88 g.
Average mass: 60 g.
Range length: 105 to 123 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
In captivity, G. demidoff often live over 6 years, with a maximum recorded lifespan of 13 years. In the wild, experiments have shown that the entire population can replace itself after a 6-year period, with most individuals living 4 to 5 years.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 13 (high) years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 4 to 5 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 4 to 5 years.
Demidoff’s bushbabies can be found in either primary or secondary rainforests. Due to their small size, these animals can live in the dense foliage of the forest where other prosimians would have a great deal of difficulty moving. They prefer biotope zones with fine branches and/or liane curtains, where the diameters of their supports are generally less than 5 cm. In primary forests, this area is high in the canopy (5 to 40 m). In secondary forests, and in tree fall zones in primary forests, they are usually found in bushy vegetation only a few meters (0 to 5 m) off the ground. They can often be seen in the dense vegetation by the roadside and in ditches.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest
Galago demidoff, commonly called Demidoff's bushbaby, is widely found in west and central equatorial Africa. Common in this large range, G. demidoff is found from the southern borders of Somalia to northeastern Tanzania, and from Senegal to western Tanzania. Population density for G. demidoff is usually between 50 to 80 per sq km, though depending on the quality of appropriate habitat, up to 117 individuals have been observed in a 1 square km plot.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Demidoff's bushbabies were previously recognized under the name Galagoides demidoff.
Galago demidoff individuals communicate in a variety of ways. Visual signals are used to communicate such things as submission, aggression, fright, and excitement. Specific posturing is also used to indicate an acceptance of grooming or mating activities. All age groups within the species use visual signals.
Demidoff’s bushbabies also use vocalizations to communicate with conspecifics. Six distinct types of calls have been defined within G. demidoff communication. Gathering calls are mainly heard as dawn approaches and the individuals are attempting to re-group at a sleeping site or particular leaf nest. The "rolling call" is used to communicate after the group has reassembled. This call can also be connected with adults seeking contact with each other. "Plaintive squeaks" are generally associated with sexual relationships between males and females. "Alarm calls" are the most common type of G. demidoff vocalization. While used spontaneously upon awakening, these calls are uttered only occasionally throughout the night, often in response to such things as strange noises, encountering a predator, or an unknown conspecific, etc. A "threat call" is used by an individual to intimidate a conspecific. The latter will generally flee from the confrontation. And finally, the "distress call" is used after an individual has been captured or injured. It is important to note that adults sometimes approach the young of other Galago species if they are uttering distress calls.
Galago demidoff also uses olfactory cues for both direct and indirect communication. Indirectly, they use urine marking to signal such things as gender, and sexual readiness. These animals mark their surroundings with scrotal and vulval glands when involved in mating behavior. Direct olfactory communication is important when individuals encounter one another. During these interludes, facial and genital regions are subject to intensive investigation.
As with many primate species, allogrooming is an important part of social dynamics. This tactile communication is preformed through licking and using the ‘toothcomb’ (composed of the four lower incisors and the procumbent two canines) to cleanse another individual. Most often occurring between a mother and her offspring, allogrooming can also occur between adults in an established social group. Allogrooming takes place most frequently during the time period just after these animals awaken, or just after they return to their sleeping site. The other form of tactile communication occurs in ‘contact groups’, where several individuals sleep entwined at a single nest site throughout the day.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Though considered vulnerable by many scientific groups, G. demidoff is not listed as an endangered species. Like all primates, G. demidoff is listed on CITES appendix II.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
It is unlikely that these animals have any negative impact on human populations.
Local woodsmen and families at times hunt G. demidoff for use as a food source. Hunters sometimes mimic the distress calls of young Galago to attract adults.
Positive Impacts: food
Information on this topic is not available in the literature. However, we can assume that as insectivores, these animals exert an impact on the populations of prey insects. As part of their fruit eating behavior, it is likely that these animals help to disperse seeds. To the extent that any other species relies upon Demidoff's bushbabies for food, they may also have an impact upon predator populations.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Demidoff’s bushbabies are primarily insectivores; 70% of their diet is composed of insects, mostly small beetles (45%), nocturnal moths (38%), and caterpillars (10%). They also consume fruits (19% of their diet) and gums (10%). Because of their small size, they can feed almost exclusively on prey items, whereas the other species of galagos must rely on vegetation to make up a greater portion of their diets.
The composition of the diet changes depending upon the time of feeding. Demidoff’s bushbabies feed predominately on fruits and gums when they initially arise during the early hours of the night (18.30 to 24.00). During this time period, fruits and gums make up 35% of their diet. During the later hours of the night, from 24.00 to 6.00, such foods make up only 20% of the diet. Demidoff’s bushbabies generally eat fruit slowly, using their tooth scrapers to pick off tiny pieces. They never consume the kernels. Fruits often come from trees of the genus Uapaca, or from parasol trees, Musanga cecropiodes. Observations from the wild suggest that the gums consumed by G. demidoff come from only five tree species: Entada gigas, Entada celerata, Penacletra eetveldeana, Piptadenstrum africanum, and Albizia gummifera.
Demidoff’s bushbabies locate prey using auditory and visual cues, and often will capture an insect just as it takes off. The disturbance caused by a bush baby’s locomotion through the canopy causes the prey to flee. This movement cues a bushbaby to the prey’s location. Prey can escape detection by remaining immobile, but as soon as the slightest movement occurs, a bushbaby can spot the insect. Bushbabies do this by directing their ears in the correct direction and localizing the sound. Experiments have shown that G. demidoff is so good at localizing sounds that individuals can follow the exact movements of a flying locust from the other side of a plywood screen. Demidoff's bushbabies move their heads, just as they would if they could actually see the insect. This ability to track insects is highly adaptive, as bushbabies usually hunt in the dense foliage of invading lianes.
In order to actually catch prey during take off, Demidoff's bushbabies will firmly grasp a branch with the hind feet, and then thrust the body forward towards the prey. Once the insect has been captured, G. demidoff will recoil immediately to its starting position.
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: fruit; sap or other plant fluids
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )
Although mainly polygynous, the mating system of G. demidoff is flexible, and depends upon the home range of the individual animal. For example, an individual male may be monogamous if his territory includes that of only one female. However, males typically have a home range which overlaps that of several females, and so they are polygynous.
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous
Female G. demidoff generally have only one pregnancy per year. The breeding season for Demidoff's bushbabies is dependent on the area in which they are found. In the Congo, births occur between September and October and between January and February. In Gabon, births occur all year round, although there is an increase between January and April when there is an abundance of fruits and insects. This species generally produces a single offspring per pregnancy, although twins do occur.
Gestation in G. demidoff is between 111 and 114 days, and lactation lasts for approximately 45 days. Newborns weigh between 5 and 10 g. New mothers isolate themselves for a one or two week period, though siblings and the dominant male are permitted to approach the newborn a few hours after the birth. When the young bushbaby is a few days old, the mother takes it out of the nest, leaving it hidden in the dense vegetation while she forages, before carrying it back to the safety of the nest as dawn approaches.
Young G. demidoff are weaned after 2 months and reach adult size around 6 months of age. After weaning, the young still get some help in foraging. Because their prey-capture responses are not fully developed, the young of this species require assistance in order to find and acquire food. Young bushbabies follow an adult (usually the mother, another female in the group, or a dominant male) out as they hunt. This helps them to locate prey. Demidoff’s bushbabies reach sexual maturity 8 to 10 months after birth.
Breeding interval: These animals apparently breed once per year.
Breeding season: The breeding season varies by location.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 111 to 114 days.
Average gestation period: 113 days.
Range weaning age: 40 to 50 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 8 to 10 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 8 to 10 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous
Females provide most of the care for offspring. As in most primates, this includes nursing the young, grooming them, protecting them, and playing with them. The role of males in offspring care has not been documented, but may include grooming and protection. Although males are not "active" in this role, the young do follow them while foraging, allowing the young animals to find food.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning
Prince Demidoff's bushbaby (Galagoides demidovii), also known as Prince Demidoff's galago, is a species of primate in the family Galagidae. It is native to parts of tropical West and Central Africa.
Prince Demidoff's bushbaby grows to a head-and-body length of 73 to 155 mm (2.9 to 6.1 in), with a tail of 110 to 215 mm (4.3 to 8.5 in). The head is narrow with a pointed muzzle and variable colouring round the eyes. The upper parts are reddish-brown, the underparts are paler and the tail is not bushy.[3]
The species is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, possibly Kenya, and possibly Malawi. Habitats include both primary and secondary forest as well as swampy forests, mangrove areas, gallery forests and mixed habitats in the Upper Guinean forest zone. It is adaptable and tolerates a certain amount of habitat degradation.[2]
Like other galagos, Prince Demidoff's bushbaby is nocturnal and arboreal. During the day it sleeps in a nest made of dense vegetation or leaves some 5 to 40 m (16 to 131 ft) off the ground. At night it forages for insects, mostly beetles and moths, and also feeds on fruit and gum exudate. It can make horizontal bounds of up to 2 m (7 ft). The male has a home range of 0.5 to 2.7 hectares (1.2 to 6.7 acres), which may overlap the smaller home ranges of several females. There is intense competition among males during the breeding season. Females usually have one pregnancy per year, with a gestation period of about 112 days. The female will often hide the baby in the undergrowth during the night while she forages and take it back to the nest in the morning. Weaning takes place at about six weeks and maturity is reached at about nine months.[3]
Prince Demidoff's bushbaby (Galagoides demidovii), also known as Prince Demidoff's galago, is a species of primate in the family Galagidae. It is native to parts of tropical West and Central Africa.
