hyrax

 

(hī'răks) , name for rabbit-sized mammals of Africa and SW Asia comprising the family Procavidae. Although rodentlike in appearance, hyraxes are hoofed mammals, or ungulates (see Chordata), most closely related to elephants and sea cows. The hyrax, also called coney, has a squat, furry body, with short slender legs, short ears, and a short tail. It has small hooves on its toes, and moist padded soles that cling to steep surfaces by suction, making it an excellent climber. There are about 14 hyrax species, classified in two genera. The genus Procavia includes the ground-living species, sometimes called dassies. Dassies are rock dwellers and live in colonies of up to 50 animals; they are found especially in deserts and hills. Most species of the genus Dendrohyrax are arboreal and are known as tree hyraxes; they are the only tree-dwelling hoofed mammals. Tree hyraxes are solitary and nocturnal; they are confined to forested regions of Africa. Hyraxes feed on seeds, fruit, and leaves, and in large numbers can be serious agricultural pests. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Hyracoidea, family Procavidae.

Hyraxes Fossil range: Early Eocene - Recent
Heterohyrax brucei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Eutheria Superorder: Afrotheria Order: Hyracoidea Huxley, 1869 Family: Procaviidae Thomas, 1892
Genera
Procavia Heterohyrax Dendrohyrax

A hyrax (from Greek ὑραξ 'shrewmouse'; Afrikaans: klipdassie) is any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. They live in Africa and the Middle East.

Hyraxes are well-furred rotund creatures with a mere stump for a tail. They are about the size of a Corgi; most measure between about 30 and 70 cm long and weigh between 2 and 5 kg. From a distance, a hyrax could be mistaken for a very well-fed rabbit or guinea pig.

Characteristics

Hyraxes retain a number of early mammal characteristics; in particular they have poorly developed internal temperature regulation (which they deal with by huddling together for warmth, and by basking in the sun like reptiles). Unlike other browsing and grazing animals, they do not have well developed incisors at the front of the jaw for slicing off leaves and grass, and need to use the teeth at the side of the jaw instead. Unlike the even-toed ungulates and some of the macropods, hyraxes do not chew cud to help extract nutrients from coarse, low-grade leaves and grasses. They do, however, have complex, multi-chambered stomachs which allow symbiotic bacteria to break down tough plant materials, and their overall ability to digest fibre is similar to that of the ungulates.

Scientists have recently reduced the number of distinct species of hyrax recognized. While as recently as 1995 there were eleven or more recognized species, there are only four recognized today. The remaining species are regarded as subspecies of the remaining four. In fact, there are over 50 recognized species and subspecies, though many are considered highly endangered.^[1]

Historical accounts

Early Phoenician navigators mistook the rabbits of the Iberian Peninsula for hyraxes (Hebrew Shaphan); hence they named it I-Shapan-im, meaning "land of the hyraxes", which became the Latin word "Hispania", the root of Spain's modern Spanish name España and the English name Spain.

The word "rabbit, or "hare" was used instead of "hyrax" many times in some earlier English Bible translations. European translators of those times had no knowledge of the hyrax (Hebrew שָּׁפָן Shaphan^[2]), and therefore no name for them. There are references to hyraxes in the Old Testament^[3] which seem to mistakenly identify hyraxes and rabbits as ruminating animals. This is possibly because they "appear to be so from working the jaws on the grasses they live on."^[4]).

Prehistory

Hyraxes are sometimes described as the closest living relative of the elephant. This is because they may share an ancestor in the distant past when hyraxes were larger and more diverse. However, the details of their relationship remain open to debate.

All modern hyraxes are members of the family Procaviidae (the only living family within the Hyracoidea) and are found only in Africa and the Middle East. In the past, however, hyraxes were more diverse and widespread. The order first appears in the fossil record over 40 million years ago, and for many millions of years hyraxes were the primary terrestrial herbivore in Africa, just as odd-toed ungulates were in the Americas. There were many different species, the largest of them about the weight of a small horse, the smallest the size of a mouse. During the Miocene, however, competition from the newly-developed bovids—very efficient grazers and browsers—pushed the hyraxes out of the prime territory and into marginal niches. Nevertheless, the order remained widespread, diverse and successful as late as the end of the Pliocene (about two million years ago) with representatives throughout most of Africa, Europe and Asia.

The descendants of the giant hyracoids evolved in different ways. Some became smaller, and gave rise to the modern hyrax family. Others appear to have taken to the water (perhaps like the modern capybara), and ultimately gave rise to the elephant family, and perhaps also the Sirenians (dugongs and manatees). DNA evidence supports this theory, and the small modern hyraxes share numerous features with elephants, such as toenails, excellent hearing, sensitive pads on their feet, small tusks, good memory, high brain functions compared to other similar mammals, and the shape of some of their bones.^[5]

Not all scientists support the contention that hyraxes are the closest living relative of the elephant, because while they both do have similar bones, Hyraxes do not have the same breasts as Elephants do (Elephants have the same breasts as humans and apes do). Some scientists say Hyraxes are more related to Ungulates such as deer than they are of elephants, T.S. Kemp's The Origin and Evolution of Mammals states that "Elephants (Proboscidea) and hyraxes (Hyracoidae) are both more closely related to manatees and dugongs (Sirenia) than they are to one another." Others state that both morphological and molecular based classifications reveal the Sirenians to be the closest living relatives of elephants, while hyraxes are closely related but form an outgroup to the assemblage of elephants, sirenians and extinct orders like Embrithopoda and Desmostylia.^{[citation needed]}

Living species

• ORDER HYRACOIDEA
  • Family Procaviidae
    • Genus Dendrohyrax
      • Southern Tree Hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus
      • Western Tree Hyrax, Dendrohyrax dorsalis
    • Genus Heterohyrax
      • Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax, Heterohyrax brucei
    • Genus Procavia
      • Cape Hyrax, Procavia capensis

References

1. ^ Shoshani, Jeheskel (November 16, 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 87-89. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
2. ^ "Shaphan" in Strong's Concordance
3. ^ Lev 11:4-8; Deut 14:7; Ps 104:18; Prov 30:26
4. ^ Commentary on Lev. 11:5,6 by Robert Jamieson
5. ^ "Hyrax: The Little Brother of the Elephant", Wildlife on One, BBC TV.

External links

• A BBC Science and Nature article on Hyrax
• A reference to Hyrax on a website about elephants (includes video of Procavia capensis- video link dead-many links broken)

Extant mammal orders by infraclass
Australosphenida	Monotremata
Metatheria	Didelphimorphia · Paucituberculata · Microbiotheria · Notoryctemorphia · Dasyuromorphia · Peramelemorphia · Diprotodontia
Eutheria	Afrosoricida · Macroscelidea · Tubulidentata · Hyracoidea · Proboscidea · Sirenia · Cingulata · Pilosa · Scandentia · Dermoptera · Primates · Rodentia · Lagomorpha · Erinaceomorpha · Soricomorpha · Chiroptera · Pholidota · Carnivora · Perissodactyla · Artiodactyla · Cetacea

lij:Hyracoidea

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