086 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
PRIMATES Monkeys and Lemurs 
LORISIDAE Loris, Pottos, Galagos 
Galagoides demidoffi (G. Fischer) 
Galago demidoffi G. Fischer, Mém. Soc. Imp. Nat., Moscow, vol. 1, p. 24, 1806: Senegal. 
A small lemur with long ankles; grayish brown above, becoming slightly reddish in the center 
of the back; lower surface of body washed with yellow; a pale area on the center of the muzzle, 
bordered by two narrow black lines between the eyes. West and Central Africa. 
In the forests of Liberia this small galago is apparently common for a num- 
ber of young ones were brought in to us at Gbanga during the month of Sep- 
tember, some of these in the latter part of the month very small. We tried to 
feed them on milk but with little success. They slept during the day but be- 
came more active at night giving from time to time sharp twittering noises of 
needle-like fineness. We once startled an adult while making our way along in 
deep forest where scattered bush and vine growth made a thicket-like tangle. 
The animal must have been on the ground, and giving a bound of several feet 
started making its way rapidly up the vines. 
It is uncertain whether the animal of Liberia is identical subspecifically with 
that of Senegal, the type locality, or whether the form found on Fernando Po 
is the same. The latter has been named by Thomas (1904) poensis while Tem- 
minck in 1853 gave the name Otolicnus peli to the same species on the Gold 
Coast. Should specimens from Senegal prove different from the Liberian ones, 
as is likely in view of the different climatic conditions there, Temminck’s name 
should be retained in a subspecific sense for those of the region from Sierra 
Leone to the Gold Coast. An anomaly of distribution seems to be the absence 
of the genus Galago from this part of Africa. 
Perodictius potto (E. Geoffroy). Bosman’s Potto; “Softly” 
Nycticebus potto E. Geoffroy, Ann. Mus. d’Hist. Nat. Paris, vol. 19, p. 165, 1812: Guinea. 
Size of a kitten; head short, rounded, index finger a mere stump, tail short; general color 
reddish brown. Sierra Leone to Gold Coast. 
A fine adult was brought to us at Paiata that had been caught in a native 
monkey trap, made by cutting down trees to form a sort of bridge between two 
neighboring clumps and placing a noose in such a way that monkeys passing 
along the fallen trunks to reach the opposite group of trees will put their heads 
through the noose and be captured. The native name for this lemur is “Softly,” 
and it is well known that they believe it is possessed of great strength in its 
hands, enabling it to choke to death the monkeys on which it is supposed to 
feed. The origin of the belief may be in the tightly clenched fingers of the dead 
animal. Bittikofer records a young one secured on the Junk and a young male 
at Soforé Place, but believes it is rare along the coast. 
