SPECIES - Galagoides sp. nov. 2
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  • Description
  • Taxonomy
  • Calls
  • Distribution
  • Habitat
  • Conservation
  • References
nprgLogoThe two museum specimens that G. sp. nov. 2 is based on have been described by Groves (2001) as: “Larger, lighter, browner than G. granti; tail not much darker than dorsum, its tip hardly darkened at all; black eye-rings; underside creamy gray, cheeks and throat yellowish as in G. zanzibaricus; ears not heavily pigmented. Size large, but tail relatively shorter than in G. granti, though ears are proportionally larger.During his brief encounters with G. sp. nov. 2, the only known field study, Wallace (2005) confirmed the physical appearance described by Groves (2001).
Common name: Mt. Thyolo Galago

Type locality: Mt Thyolo (Cholo), Malawi (16° 04’ S; 35° 09 E)

Excerpt from Grubb et al. (2003):
"Lawrence and Loveridge (1953) removed nyasae from the synonymy of what they called Galago senegalensis moholi, where Schwarz (1931) had placed it, but retained it as a subspecies of G. senegalensis. They recognized its differences from Galago senegalensis moholi and similarities with G. s. zanzibaricus, i.e.  Galagoides zanzibaricus, in pelage, dentition and cranial proportions. After examining the type and other material in London, they included in Galago senegalensis nyasae the specimen from Thyolo (= Cholo) which Groves (2001) assigned to Galagoides sp. nov. 2. Galagoides sp. nov. 2 and what we now call Galagoides nyasae occur in very close proximity."
During 15 hours of surveying the Thyolo Mountain Forest Reserve, Wallace (2005) (the only survey on record) did not hear any advertising call.


Descending Screech

Buzz and Descending Screech



All calls are used by kind permission from NPRG Sound Library, Oxford Brookes University, U.K.
The two specimens this taxon is based on where collected from Mount Cholo (today’s Thyolo), Ruo, Malawi, 16°03’S, 35°08’E, 915 m (Groves 2001).

Map: Pink area illustrate the current estimated distribution of G. sp. nov. 2.


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Distribution polygon data compiled by Karlsson (2012).

Thyolo Mountain Forest Reserve contain mid-altitude rain forest along the ridge, dominated by strangling figs (Dowsett-Lemaire and Dowsett 2006). During the past decade the reserve has become to merge more and more with surrounding tea plantations and woodland and does effectively constitute of light to medium understory forest fragments with light to medium levels of canopy cover (Wallace 2005).

thyolomountains
Picture: Thyolo Mountain Forest Reserve, Malawi, in 2005 (photograph used with permission from G. Wallace).

Authorities difficulty in enforcing the law in the area has had serious implications for the remaining forest in the forest reserve. Threats include agriculture, cash crops, timber and encroachments for gardens (Dowsett-Lemaire and Dowsett 2006).   Encroachment of the forest reserve during the 1990’s exploded under a few days in 2004 when up to ninety percent of the habitat was decimated wholesale clearing of trees for trees as a source of firewood for local villages (D. Nangoma, Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust, pers. comm., in Wallace (2005)).

Dowsett-Lemaire F & Dowsett RJ (2006) The birds of Malawi: an atlas and handbook (Tauraco Press and Aves a.s.b.l., Liège, Belgium) p 556 p.

Groves CP (2001) Primate taxonomy (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington [D.C.]) pp viii, 350 p.

Lawrence B & Loveridge A (1953) Zoological Results of a Fifth Expedition to East Africa: I. Mammals from Nyasaland and Tete. With notes on the genus Otomys. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 110(1):3-80.

Schwartz E (1931) On the African long-tailed lemurs and galagos. The annals and magazine of natural history, including zoology, botany, and geology, eds Woodward AS, Marshall GAK, Regan CT, Stephenson J, & Francis RT (Taylor and Francis, London), Vol VII, pp 41-65.

Wallace G (2005) Identification, abundance, and behaviour of galagos (Primates, Galagidae) in the Shire Highlands, Malawi. MSc Thesis (Oxford Brookes University, Oxford).
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