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The fore feet are plantigrade, and the hind feet are semi digitigrade. The rock hyrax has a prominent pair of long, pointed tusk-like upper incisors, which are reminiscent of the elephant, to which the hyrax is distantly related. It has long, black whiskers on its muzzle. The rock hyrax has a pointed head, short neck, and rounded ears. The gland is most clearly visible in dominant males. Prominent in and apparently unique to hyraxes is the dorsal gland, which excretes an odour used for social communication and territorial marking. Hyrax size (as measured by skull length and humerus diameter) is correlated to precipitation, probably because of the effect on preferred hyrax forage. Their fur is thick and grey-brown, although this varies strongly between different environments, from dark brown in wetter habitats, to light gray in desert-living individuals. Rock hyraxes are squat and heavily built, with adults reaching a length of 50 cm (20 in) and weighing around 4 kg (8.8 lb), with a slight sexual dimorphism, males being about 10% heavier than females.

2 Distribution and geographic variation.An unrelated, convergently evolved mammal of similar habits and appearance is the rock cavy of Brazil. In Ethiopia, Israel, and Jordan, it is a reservoir of the leishmaniasis parasite.Īlong with other hyrax species and the sirenians, this species is the most closely related to the elephant. Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest. Having incomplete thermoregulation, they are most active in the morning and evening, although their activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate. They have been reported to use sentries to warn of the approach of predators. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group.

They are the only extant terrestrial afrotherians in the Middle East. Rock hyraxes are found at elevations up to 4,200 m (13,800 ft) above sea level in habitats with rock crevices, allowing them to escape from predators. Rock hyraxes weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb) and have short ears and tails. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the dassie ( IPA: Afrikaans: klipdassie), it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia. r æ k s/ Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East.