Hyracoidae
| Hyraxes Temporal range: Eocene-Recent, 55.8–0 Ma |
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| Yellow-spotted rock hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Clade: | Atlantogenata |
| Superorder: | Afrotheria |
| Clade: | Paenungulata |
| Order: |
Hyracoidea Huxley, 1869 |
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Hyraxes (from the Greek ὕραξ, hýrax, "shrewmouse"), also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between 30 and 70 cm (12 and 28 in) long and weigh between 2 and 5 kg (4.4 and 11 lb). They are superficially similar to pikas or rodents (especially marmots), but are more closely related to elephants and manatees.
Four extant species are recognised; the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), the yellow-spotted rock hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei), the western tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis) and the southern tree hyrax (D. arboreus). Their distribution is limited to Africa and the Middle East.
Hyraxes retain a number of primitive mammalian characteristics; in particular, they have poorly developed internal temperature regulation, for which they compensate by behavioural thermoregulation, such as huddling together and basking in the sun.
Unlike most other browsing and grazing animals, they do not use the incisors at the front of the jaw for slicing off leaves and grass; rather, they use the molar teeth at the side of the jaw. The two upper incisors are large and tusk-like, and grow continuously through life, similar to rodents. The four lower incisors are deeply grooved 'comb teeth'. A diastema occurs between the incisors and the cheek teeth. The dental formula for hyraxes is 1.0.4.32.0.4.3.
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