Euoticus elegantulus
western needle-clawed galago

Eouticus elegantulus occupies the upper levels of the African rainforest canopy throughout the countries of Southern Cameroon, south of the Sanaga River, Rio Muni (Mainland Equatorial Guinea), Gabon, Congo and South Nigeria. (Macdonald, 1987)

Needle-clawed bushbabies live in primary and secondary forests. They are completely arboreal and nocturnal, occupying the closed canopy of Africa’s tropical rainforest up to about 50 m in height. (Sussman, 1979)

Euoticus elegantulus receives its common name from its distinctive nails. These primates have needle-like nails on all digits except the second toe, which has the usual toilet claw. The nails have a central keel that comes to a point and the tips of the fingers are well padded to help grip barks while these animals forage for gums.

Needle-clawed bush babies are monomorphic, ranging from 495 to 555 mm in length from head to tip of tail. Without the tail, they range from 215 to 235 mm. They weigh between 270 and 360 g.

The fur is very soft, dense, and cinnamon tinted with a darker median dorsal stripe. The tail is long and cylindrical. These animal have short muzzles, huge eyes, and large mobile ears to help keep a lookout for predators. They can also rotate their heads 180 degrees.

Galagos have four incisors and two canines which form a “tooth comb”. This structure helps them to groom their fur. To help clean the tooth comb they have a second, fleshy comb, armed in front with hard pointy horns, and located under the tongue.

No geographic or seasonal variation has been reported. E. elangantulus is distinguished from other bush babies by having a different fur color, different dentition, and a thicker tail. (Hill, 1953; Nowak, 1999; Singapore Zoological Gardens Docents, 2001)

These animals are thought to live 3 to 4 years in the wild, and 10 to 15 years in captivity. (Flannery, 2001)

Euoticus elegantulus is considered a nocturnal and solitary forager, even though it isn’t purely nocturnal or purely solitary in foraging. These animals do have activity in the day as well. After their nightly foraging, at dawn females form matriarchal groupings and have close contact and mutual licking. Females sleep with their young. They may also sleep in groups averaging 2 to 8 galagos, but which can be as large as 20 animals. These sleeping associations are thought to reinforce social bonds. Some mated pairs may sleep together and at other times the male may keep in close contact with the females in his territory outside of the nest.

Females forage in small groups, but males forage alone. Experiments have shown that females chase other adult females introduced into their home ranges. Galagos are territorial and warn off rival groups with warning calls. They mark their territory with scents from various scent glands.

The dominant male in an area is typically the heaviest. His territory overlaps with that of most of the females. He will tolerate light-weight males in his territory and moderate-weight males on periphery of his territory. Light–weight males are nomadic until they gain sufficient weight to hold a territory of their own.

Southern needle-clawed galagos are quadrupedal runners and leapers. They leap from tree to tree and can cover a 12 m space in a single upward jump. When gliding, these animals use a parachuting method where they spread their arms and legs out to achieve maximum surface area to slow their descent.

In this species males disperse and females are philopatric. (Flannery, 2001; Singapore Zoological Gardens Docents, 2001)

Home Range

Home range size for this species is not reported.

Bush babies were named after the cries they emit to identify their territory, which sound like a crying baby. They are constantly prepared for instant flight. They have a series of alarm calls to alert conspecifics to threats of danger. Their series of calls include territorial calls, which sound like a "quee"; alarm calls, which sound like "tee-ya"; infant calls, which sound like "tsic"; maternal calls, which also sound like the infant "tsic" call, but are more powerful; contact-rejection calls, which sound like "ki-ki-ki", and are staccato; aggressive calls, which are described as a "hoarse growl"; and distress calls, which sound like "weet".

Bush babies also have a large glandular area that is used for olfactory communication (scents are secreted from a brachial gland). They will also deposit urine for territorial markings and have social grooming to strengthen the mother/infant bond. (Hill, 1953; Nowak, 1999; Singapore Zoological Gardens Docents, 2001)

Euoticus elegantulus is a nocturnal feeder, and is primarily gummivorous. The needle-clawed nails of this species are specially adapted for this diet. They also feed on insects and fruits. Seventy five percent of the diet of this species consists of gums, 20% insects, and 5% fruits (along with some buds). The types of gums they eat upon are, Entada gigas, Albizia gummifera, and Pentacletra eetveldeana.

When foraging for gums, needle-clawed galagos use a regular pathway of trees, stopping at each one every night. These animals can stop at 500 to 1000 gum feeding locations in a single night.

The type of insects and other invertebrates that bushbabies eat belong to the orders Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (both caterpillars and moths), Orthoptera (grasshoppers), Hymenpoptera (ants), Isoptera (termites), Myriapoda (centipedes and millipedes), Arachnida (spiders), and Gastropoda (slugs). During the dry season, this species strictly survives off of gums. (Nowak, 1999; Sussman, 1979)

As predators, they keep the population of their prey in check. They are also eaten by larger creatures, mainly night birds of prey such as owls. (Singapore Zoological Gardens Docents, 2001)

As nectar feeders, these tiny creatures pollinate some plants. Galagos may also disperse the seeds of the fruits that they eat. As predators, they keep the population of their prey in check. E. elegantulus shares its habitat with another species of bush baby, Galago demidovii. They both exploit the canopy but there isn’t any real competition because they occupy different levels of the canopy and prey on different sizes of prey. (Flannery, 2001; Sussman, 1979)

In 1940, it was discovered that galagos are a reservoir for the virus which causes yellow fever. Although the galagos don't become ill from this disease, mosquitoes can transmit the disease from the galagos to humans. (Flannery, 2001)

These animals are used in behavioral research, and are enjoyed by visitors to zoos.

The biggest threat to the species E. elegantulus is habitat destruction. There is a lot of timbering and clearing of land for plantations and illegal hunting. To prevent forest primates from extinction, proper forest reserves will have to be put up and that demand sufficient funds. (Bermont and Lindberg, 1975)