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Galagos , also known as bushbabies, bush babies, or ''nagapies'' (meaning "little night monkeys" in Afrikaans), are small, nocturnal primates native to continental Africa, and make up the family Galagidae (also sometimes called Galagonidae). They are sometimes included as a subfamily within the Lorisidae or Loridae. According to some accounts, the name "bush baby" comes from either the animal's cries or its appearance. The South African name ''nagapie'' is because they are almost exclusively seen at night. In both variety and abundance, the bush babies are the most successful primitive primates in Africa, according to the African Wildlife Foundation.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/980/ )〕 ==Characteristics== Galagos have large eyes that give them good night vision, strong hind limbs, acute hearing, and long tails that help them balance. Their ears are bat-like and allow them to track insects in the dark. They catch insects on the ground or snatch them out of the air. They are fast, agile creatures. As they bound through the thick bushes, they fold their delicate ears back to protect them. They also fold them during rest.〔 They have nails on most of their digits, except for the second toe of the hind foot, which bears a grooming claw. Their diet is a mixture of insects and other small animals, fruit, and tree gums. They have pectinate (comb-like) incisors called toothcombs, and the dental formula: After a gestation period of 110–133 days, young galagos are born with half-closed eyes and are initially unable to move about independently. After a few (6–8) days, the mother carries the infant in her mouth, and places it on branches while feeding. Females may have singles, twins, or triplets, and may become very aggressive. Each newborn weighs less than half an ounce. For the first three days, the infant is kept in constant contact with the mother. The young are fed by the mother for six weeks and can feed themselves at two months. The young grow rapidly, often causing the mother to walk awkwardly as she transports them.〔 Females maintain a territory, but share them with their offspring. Males leave their mothers' territories after puberty, but females remain, forming social groups consisting of closely related females and their young. Adult males maintain separate territories, which overlap with those of the female social groups; generally, one adult male mates with all the females in an area. Males that have not established such territories sometimes form small bachelor groups.〔 While keeping them as pets is not advised (like many other nonhuman primates, they are considered likely sources of diseases that can cross species barriers, it is certainly done. Equally, they are highly likely to attract attention from customs officials on importation into many countries. Reports from veterinary and zoological sources indicate captive lifetimes of 12.0 to 16.5 years, suggesting a natural lifetime over a decade. Galagos communicate both by calling to each other, and by marking their paths with urine. By following the scent of urine, they can land on exactly the same branch every time.〔 All species of Galagos produce species-specific 'loud calls' or 'advertisement calls'. These calls have multiple different functions. One function is long-distance identification and differentiation of individual species, and scientists are now able to recognize all known Galagos species by their 'loud calls'. At the end of the night, group members use a special rallying call and gather to sleep in a nest made of leaves, a group of branches, or a hole in a tree. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「galago」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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