Evolution

The brown greater galago belongs to the suborder Strepsirhini which also contains lemurs, pottos and lorises. Within this suborder they belong to the Galagidae family, which contains six genera, including the genus Otolemur which the brown greater galago falls into.

The brown greater galago evolved from the ancient species Saharagalago mirrensis, an ancestor it shares with other galagids and lorises. This ancient species lived over 37 million years ago. The divergence of galagids from lorises is estimated to be by the end of the Middle Eocene period (47.8 million years ago), while the Otolemur genus is believed to have diverged 8 million years ago.