ROCK HYRAX – an elephant relative?
African Safari September 3rd, 2010
SafariKay.com
has been updated with a new article ROCK HYRAX – an elephant relative? by Chitraparna Sinha.
Also called ‘dassie’ or ‘rock rabbit’ and said to be the nearest relative of the elephant, the hyrax is a furry small mammal that looks like an obese guinea pig. The relationship with the elephant is due to the fact that the remote ancestors were common to the dugongs, manatees, hyraxes and elephants.
The Swahili names for them are pimbi, pelele and wibari, though the latter two names are nowadays reserved for the tree hyraxes. This species has many subspecies, many of which are also known as Rock or Cape Hyrax, although the former usually refers to African varieties.
The toes of the hyrax, four on each front foot and three on each back foot, are stumpy with hoof-like nails. On the inside toes of the back feet, it has claw-like nails which are used for scratching and grooming. For climbing steep rock surfaces and trees, there is a rubbery texture at the bottom of its feet.
Profile
A brief profile of the hyrax is as follows:
- It is about 12 inches tall.
- It weighs between 5 lb and 9 lb.
- …
[...]
Visit ROCK HYRAX: the nearest relative of the elephant? to read the whole article.
No related posts.
I was doing a search and came across this site. Have to say that this info is great! Keep writing more. I will be reading your articles