Allen’s Galago (Galago alleni)

MORPHOLOGY:
The average body mass is around 190 grams.

RANGE:
The Allen’s galago is found in the following countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. This species lives in the understory of the forest.

ECOLOGY:
This species is primarily frugivorous, but also eats insects to supplement for protein. Allen's galago sleeps at night in tree hollows; males sleep alone and females sleep in groups (Bearder, 1987).

LOCOMOTION:
The Allen’s galago is a vertical leaper and clinger.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR:
The territories of males and females overlap and so do that of females. Males have territories that do not overlap with other males. The males disperse in this species. The Allen's galago has a polygynous mating system (Charles-Dominique, 1977). Females form a matriarchy in the group (Charles-Dominique, 1977). The mothers carry their young around in their mouths, common amongst the galagines.

VOCAL COMMUNICATION:
infant call: this call sounds like "tsic" (Estes, 1991).

maternal call: this call is used by the female Allen’s galago to elicit a response from their young (Estes, 1991). It sounds like a soft croak (Estes, 1991).

aggressive call: this call sounds like "quee-quee-quee" (Estes, 1991).

OLFACTORY COMMUNICATION:
This is important for the Allen’s galago.
urine washing: this is where an individual transfers urine to the hands and feet then to the substrate (Estes, 1991).

VISUAL COMMUNICATION:
staring open-mouth face: This is where the eyes are opened wide, the mouth is open with the teeth covered by the lips (Jolly, 1972). This occurs when mobbing a predator or serves to communicate an inhibited threat (Jolly, 1972).

staring bared-teeth scream face: This is where the eye are opened wide, the mouth is open with the corners drawn back so that the teeth and gums are revealed (Jolly, 1972). This display occurs with terror flight (Jolly, 1972).

silent bared-teeth face: This is where the eyes are staring at the stimulus, the eye brows are either relaxed or up, and the corners of the mouth are drawn back allowing the teeth to show (Jolly, 1972). This is used with protective responses (Jolly, 1972).

bared-teeth gecker face: This is like silent bared-teeth face only with a rapid noise attached to it (Jolly, 1972). This occurs with defensive threat calls and infant clicks(Jolly, 1972).

TACTILE COMMUNICATION:
social grooming: this is important for strengthening bonds between infants and mothers (Estes, 1991).

nose-to-nose sniffing: this first occurs when one Allen’s galago comes upon another (Estes, 1991). This behavior is followed by nose-to-face contact (Estes, 1991).

nose-to-face contact: one individual touches the face of another (Estes, 1991). This procedes nose-to-nose sniffing (Estes, 1991).

REPRODUCTION:
This species gives birth to single offspring.

REFERENCES:
Bearder, S.K. 1987. Lorises, Bushbabies, and Tarsiers: Diverse Societies in Solitary Foragers. in Primate Societies. eds. B.B. Smuts, D.L. Cheney, R.M. Seyfarth, R.W. Wrangham, and T.T. Struhsaker. University of Chicago Press.

Burton, F. 1995. The Multimedia Guide to the Non-human Primates. Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.

Charles-Dominique, P. 1977. Ecology and Behvaiour of Nocturnal Prosimians. Duckworth:London.

Estes, R. D. 1991. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. University of California Press.

Jolly, A. 1972. The Evolution of Primate Behavior. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY.

Last Updated: October 7, 2003.
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