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Although Togo is a relatively small country in West Africa, it is characterized by a wide variation of vegetation zones ranging from moist forests to arid savannahs, including the "Dahomey Gap". There has been no comprehensive documentation of the native mammal fauna of Togo since 1893. Our review of the extant and extirpated mammals of Togo includes 178 species, with Chiroptera (52 species) and Rodentia (47 species) being the most speciose groups. This number does not include additional species recorded along the borders of Togo, and whose presence inside the country is not verified. Seven species of mammals are presumably extinct in the country, but we confirmed that two species of large ungulates, reputed to be extinct, survive in remote forest habitats. Ecological Zone IV, sustaining the moist forest areas, and Ecological Zone I, inclusive of all the relatively undisturbed dry savannahs of the extreme North of the country, are the most important regions for mammal diversity and conservation.

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We review the state of African ungulate taxonomy over the last 120 years, with an emphasis on the introduction of the polytypic species concept and the discipline's general neglect since the middle of the 20th century. We single out negative consequences of 'orthodox' taxonomy, highlighting numerous cases of neglect of threatened lineages, unsound translocations that led to lineage introgression, and cases of maladaptation to local conditions including parasitic infections. Additionally, several captive breeding programmes have been hampered by chromosome rearrangements caused by involuntary lineage mixing. We advocate that specimen-based taxonomy should regain its keystone role in mammal research and conservation biology, with its scientific values augmented with genomic evidence. While integration with molecular biology, ecology and behaviour is needed for a full understanding of ungulate alpha diversity, we stress that morphological diversity has been neglected despite its tremendous practical importance for some groups of 'utilizers' such as trophy hunters, wildlife tourists and conservationists. We conclude that there is no evidence that purported 'taxonomic inflation' has adverse effects on ungulate conservation: rather, it is taxonomic inertia that has such adverse effects. We stress that sound science, founded on robust taxonomy, should underpin effective sustainable management (hunting, ranching, captive breeding and reintroduction programmes) of this unique African natural resource.

Despite the uniqueness and importance of Theropithecus in palaeontological studies, little is known about the geographical and taxonomic differentiation in this genus, now restricted to the Ethiopian Highlands. Traditionally, the single living species Theropithecus gelada (Rüppell 1835) has been considered to comprise two subspecies: the nominate T. g. gelada in the northern highlands, and T. g. obscurus Heuglin 1863, from latitude 12 degrees to 9 degrees N in the south. Both the distributions and the physical characters of these two subspecies are poorly defined, and even in recent major taxonomic revisions, the validity of T. g. obscurus has been questioned. The history of gelada taxonomy and museum collections is reviewed here, and results are compared with the biogeography and major physical features of the Ethiopian Highlands. It is concluded that major gaps exist in our knowledge of the differentiation and distributions of Theropithecus populations. Following this literature review, a series of priority regions for taxonomic research and conservation are identified. These include the gathering of data on (1) geladas inhabiting the Wollo Region, from where obscurus was originally described; (2) the identity of geladas of the Tigray Region northeast of the Tacazzé River, and their current conservation status; (3) the identity of the Shewa population, usually assigned to obscurus; and (4) the identity and current status of geladas found northeast and south of Lake Tana, including Gojjam.