This is an arboreal, and strictly nocturnal species mainly found in lowland equatorial tropical moist forest. Within the Gabon and Central Rainforest regions, the species has been recorded only from the central parts, and has not been reported from the margins or mosaics.

This species is distributed in West Africa and Central Africa. It has been recorded from isolated, dispersed localities in Liberia, and then in southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni) and throughout much of Gabon to the northern border with Congo. It has also been recorded within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the species ranging as far east as the western borders of Uganda. A single specimen (form 'batesi') has been recorded from undisturbed forest on the Du River, western Liberia (Allen and Coolidge 1930), and two additional specimens have been reported from Mount Nimba in northern Liberia (Coe 1975). It is not known if the Liberian specimens represent an isolated population, or if the species ranges more widely in West Africa than is currently known (Grubb et al. 1998). Rahm and Christiansen (1963) recorded a specimen from 2,200 m asl at Mugaba in the Kahuzi region.

The species occurs in several protected areas throughout its range. Further research into population trends and abundance is needed.