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Information about Rock Hyrax

Cape Hyrax

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Hyracoidea
Family:Procaviidae
Genus:Procavia
Storr, 1780
Species:P. capensis
Binomial name
Procavia capensis
(Pallas, 1766)
Enlarge picture
Range map

Range map


The Cape Hyrax, or Rock Hyrax, (Procavia capensis) is a species in the order Hyracoidea. Like all hyraxes, it superficially resembles a guinea pig with short ears and tail. They are known as dassies in South Africa. The Swahili names for them are pelele and wibari. This species has many subspecies, many of which are known as Cape Hyrax or Rock Hyrax, although the latter usually refers to African varieties.

Physical description and lifestyle

Enlarge picture
A Cape Hyrax foraging on Table Mountain, Cape Town
The skull of the Cape Hyrax has a pair of long tusk-like incisors and molars that resemble rhinoceros' molars. The forefeet are plantigrade, and the hindfeet semi-digitigrade. The soles of the feet have large, soft pads that are kept moist with sweat-like secretions. Male hyraxes are slightly larger than females.

Cape Hyrax give birth to two or three young after a 6-7 month gestation period. The young are well-developed at birth with fully-opened eyes and complete pelage. Young can ingest solid food after two weeks and are weaned at ten weeks. Young are sexually mature after 16 months, reach adult size at three years, and typically live about ten years.

Hyraxes live in herds of up to 80 individuals. These herds are subdivided into smaller flocks consisting of a few families and headed by an adult male. Hyraxes spend most of their time resting in large huddles or basking alone. These behaviors probably serve to help regulate body temperature as hyraxes' body temperature fluctuates with ambient temperature (i.e. they are not strictly homeothermic).

Cape Hyraxes have been jokingly referred to as "Shawarma Bears," a reference to their size and shape, which is very similar to that of the Middle Eastern food Shawarma.

Cape Hyraxes and medical treatment

Cape Hyraxes produce large quantities of hyraceum (sticky mass of dung and urine) that has been employed by people in the treatment of several medical disorders, including epilepsy and convulsions.

Relationship to Elephants

Hyraxes are widely stated to be the closest living relatives of elephants. This is not so. Though both are within the cohort of mammals known as Afrotheria, the Hyrax is not the closest living relative of the elephant. Elephants (Proboscidea) and hyraxes (Hyracoidae) are both more closely related to manatees and dugongs (Sirenia) than they are to one another.[2]

Gallery


A Hyrax in Hermanus.

A Hyrax demonstrating its rock climbing prowess.

Hyraxes will readily come into car parks and such areas adjacent to rural areas.

A Cape Hyrax basking on Table Mountain, Cape Town.


References

1. ^ Barry et al (2006). Procavia capensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
2. ^ Kemp, T.S., 2005 The Origin and Evolution of Mammals, Oxford University Press, at 252-253; citing Asher et al., 2003, 'Relationships of endemic African mammals and their fossil relatives based on morphological and molecular evidence', Journal of Mammalian Evolution 10: 131 - 194

External links

conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Hyracoidea
Huxley, 1869

Family: Procaviidae
Thomas, 1892

Genera

Procavia
Heterohyrax
Dendrohyrax
A hyrax (from Greek
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Hyracoidea
Huxley, 1869

Family: Procaviidae
Thomas, 1892

Genera

Procavia
Heterohyrax
Dendrohyrax
A hyrax (from Greek
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Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr (June 16, 1749) - (February 27, 1821) was a German physician and naturalist.

Storr was the author of Alpenreise von jahre 1781 (1784-86, 2 vols.).
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Peter Simon Pallas (September 22, 1741, Berlin — September 8, 1811, Berlin) was a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia.

Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of a Professor of Surgery.
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order (Latin: ordo, plural ordines) is a rank between class and family (termed a taxon at that rank). The superorder is a rank between class and order. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Code which applies.
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Hyracoidea
Huxley, 1869

Family: Procaviidae
Thomas, 1892

Genera

Procavia
Heterohyrax
Dendrohyrax
A hyrax (from Greek
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Hyracoidea
Huxley, 1869

Family: Procaviidae
Thomas, 1892

Genera

Procavia
Heterohyrax
Dendrohyrax
A hyrax (from Greek
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C. porcellus

Binomial name
Cavia porcellus
(Erxleben, 1777)

Synonyms
Mus porcellus
Cavia cobaya
Cavia anolaimae
Cavia cutleri
Cavia leucopyga
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Swahili (also called Kiswahili; see below for derivation) is a Bantu language. It is the most widely spoken language of sub-Saharan Africa. Although only 5-10 million people speak it as their native language[1]
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tusk is an extremely long tooth of certain mammals that protrudes when the mouth is closed. Tusk-bearing mammals include walruses, elephants, warthogs, and narwhals.
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Incisors (from Latin incidere, "to cut") are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla.

Function

In many herbivorous or omnivorous mammals, such as the human and the horse, they are adapted for shearing sharply.
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Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone".

Human molars

Adult humans have twelve molars, in four groups of three at the back of the mouth.
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Rhinocerotidae
Gray, 1821

Extant Genera

Ceratotherium
Dicerorhinus
Diceros
Rhinoceros
Extinct genera, see text
The rhinoceros (IPA:
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plantigrade locomotion means walking with the podials and metatarsals flat on the ground.

Humans are an example of a plantigrade species; in humans, the podials and metatarsals constitute the sole of the foot.
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A digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades include walking cats, dogs, and most other mammals, except humans, bears, and a few others (cf. plantigrade, unguligrade). They are generally faster and quieter than other types of animals.
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Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time (multiple gestations).
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In mammals, pelage is the hair, fur, or wool that covers the animal. In many mammals, the pelage is made up of more than one type of hair. Some of the most prominent types of hair that make up the pelage include guard hairs (such as the defensive spines of porcupines), bristles
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herd is a large group of animals. The term is usually applied to mammals, particularly ungulates. Other terms are used for similar phenomena in other types of animal. For example, a large group of birds is usually called a flock
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Room temperature (also referred to as ambient temperature) is a common term to denote a certain temperature within enclosed space at which human beings are accustomed.
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Warm-blooded animals maintain thermal homeostasis; that is, they keep their body temperature at a constant level. This involves the ability to cool down or produce more body heat. Warm-blooded animals mainly control their body temperature by regulating their metabolic rates (e.g.
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Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما, Hebrew: שווארמה‎, also spelled Chawarma, Shwarma,
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disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. In human beings, "disease" is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes discomfort, dysfunction, distress, social problems, and/or death to the person afflicted, or similar problems
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Epilepsy
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 G 40. -G 41.
ICD-9 345

DiseasesDB 4366
MedlinePlus 000694
eMedicine neuro/415  
MeSH D004827

Epilepsy
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