The rock hyrax (/ˈhaɪ.ræks/; Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (from some[3] interpretations of a word used in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the dassie (IPA:[dasiː]; Afrikaans: klipdassie),[4] it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia.[1]
Rock hyraxes weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb) and have short ears.[4]
Rock hyraxes are found at elevations up to 4,200 m (13,800 ft) above sea level[5] in habitats with rock crevices, allowing them to escape from predators.[5][6] They are the only extant terrestrial afrotherians in the Middle East.[note 1] Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. They have been reported to use sentries to warn of the approach of predators. Having incomplete thermoregulation, they are most active in the morning and evening, although their activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate.
Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest. In Ethiopia, Israel, and Jordan, it is a reservoir of the leishmaniasis parasite.
Along with other hyrax species and the sirenians, this species is the most closely related to the elephant.[7] An unrelated, convergently evolved mammal of similar habits and appearance is the rock cavy of Brazil.
^ abShoshani, J. (2005). "Order Hyracoidea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^Butynski, T.; Hoeck, H.; Koren, L. & de Jong, Y.A. (2015). "Procavia capensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T41766A21285876. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T41766A21285876.en. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
^Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers (Leviticus 11:5)
^ ab"Hyrax". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
^ abGeorge A. Feldhamer; Lee C. Drickamer; Stephen H. Vessey; Joseph F. Merritt; Carey Krajewski (2007). Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology. JHU Press. p. 376. ISBN 9780801886959.
^Adrienne Gear (2008). Nonfiction Reading Power: Teaching Students how to Think While They Read All Kinds of Information. Pembroke Publishers Limited. p. 105. ISBN 9781551382296.
^Jane B. Reece; Noel Meyers; Lisa A. Urry; Michael L. Cain; Steven A. Wasserman; Peter V. Minorsky (2015). Campbell Biology Australian and New Zealand Edition. Pearson Higher Education AU. p. 470. ISBN 9781486012299.
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The rockhyrax (/ˈhaɪ.ræks/; Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (from some interpretations of a word used in the King...
are recognised: the rockhyrax (Procavia capensis) and the yellow-spotted rockhyrax (Heterohyrax brucei), which both live on rock outcrops, including...
to 4500 m above sea level. Despite being more common than the rockhyrax, the tree hyrax is much more difficult to spot, as it is both nocturnal and extremely...
The Benin tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax interfluvialis) is a species of tree hyrax within the family Procaviidae. It can be distinguished from neighboring Dendrohyrax...
elevations up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft). The tree hyrax lives in trees and is mostly nocturnal, as opposed to the rockhyrax which lives among rocks and is mainly...
The western tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis), also called the western tree dassie or Beecroft's tree hyrax, is a species of tree hyrax within the family...
petrified and rock-like excrement composed of both urine and feces of the rockhyrax (Procavia capensis) and closely related species. The rockhyrax defecates...
dassie (the South African name, from Afrikaans, pronounced "dussy"), or rockhyrax. Between about 2000 and 2004 (no one is certain about the exact year or...
Procavia is a genus of hyraxes. The rockhyrax (P. capensis) is currently the only extant species belonging to this genus, though other species were recognized...
the jungle, but Samson is unable to find him. After failing to eat a rockhyrax, his friend questions if he has ever been in the wild before, to which...
Kenya, such as the giant lobelias and senecios and a local subspecies of rockhyrax. An area of 715 km2 (276 sq mi) around the centre of the mountain was...
cockatoo .cockatiel .budgerigar .eclectus parrot .kea Indian elephant Rockhyrax Outdoors: Asiatic lion Asian black bear Kamchatka brown bear Golden jackal...
afrotheres, close to each other within Perissodactyla. The rodent-like hyrax A bull bush elephant A manatee and her calf Ocepeia, a basal species Arsinoitherium...
Verreaux's eagles. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that is the weight range of the rockhyrax, which all three large eagles are known to hunt regularly in East Africa...
(1993). "Alpine vertebrates of Mount Kenya, with particular notes on the rockhyrax". Journal of the East African Natural History Society. 82 (202): 54–79...
pattern to a turtle, ostrich nest, a tent, or even a hut belonging to a rockhyrax. Although fainter than its northern counterpart, the oval- or horseshoe-shaped...
notes on the rockhyrax. East Africa Natural History Society. Barry, R. E., & Mundy, P. J. (2015). Fluctuations in bush and rockhyrax (Hyracoidea: Procaviidae)...
and Panama Heterohyrax brucei princeps, a subspecies of yellow-spotted rockhyrax Melionyx princeps, the long-bearded melidectes Morphnarchus princeps,...
that large black mambas may infrequently attack large prey such as the rockhyrax or dassie, and in some tribal languages, its name even means "dassie catcher"...
Africa, it preys on the Cape grysbok, common duiker, bush vlei rats, rockhyrax and Cape hare. Mammals generally comprise at least 80% of its diet, and...
Procaviidae Genus Dendrohyrax - tree hyrax Genus Heterohyrax - yellow-spotted rockhyrax Genus Procavia - rockhyrax Family Leporidae Genus Brachylagus...
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