Endless Forms Most Beautiful - The Rock Hyrax
Endless Forms Most Beautiful is a weekly, Sunday post inviting everyone to learn more about the incredible biodiversity on planet earth. This week’s edition introduces the Rock Hyrax.
by Will
The rock hyrax is said to be the closest living relative to the elephant. How is this possible, you say? The problem with the statement above is that a common ancestor, the sea-cow(manatee or dugong), links these two species together. For more information on how the two species are related, check out my source of information at the bottom of the post. This is a truly fascinating species.
What makes it even cooler to me is that Miss Baker has never even heard of it. This animal is measured at 12 inches to the shoulder and is an herbivore, just like elephants. The hyrax can also be called the rock rabbit or the dassie and its habitat ranges from dry savanna to rain forests. Its life span is 12 years and it weighs 5-9 lbs. Their main predators are leopards, pythons, large birds, cervals, and civets. Rock hyraxes protect themselves from biting their predators or escaping to hiding places near or in rocky spaces.
An interesting fact is that the hyrax is so unlike any other animal, that it is placed in its own order (Hyracoidea). Another cool fact is that fossil remains indicate that there were hyraxes the size of oxen at one point of time. This may explain why its gestation period (7-8 months) may be so unusually long for an animal of its size.
Rock Hyrax Behavior
The rock hyrax does not dig burrows. Instead, they live in colonies of about 50 in natural crevices. Hyrax vocalizations include twitters, growls, whistles, and shrieks. Although hyraxes are generally shy, they are easily tamed in captivity. Hyraxes live in groups of one territorial mate and up to 20 females and their young. More than one group can live in an area, but each male protects its territory.
Have you ever heard of the rock hyrax?
What other information or pictures can you find on the rock hyrax?
Have you ever heard of another animal this small being related to an animal as large as the elephant?
December 9th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I actually have heard of a rock hyrax. I remember watching a tv show on them one time. I don’t remember much about them but I thought they were really cool. When I looked on the internet for more facts about them I found out that there are three species of hyrax. According to this website http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/enghyrax.html?zenden=2&subsoort_id=4&bestemming_id=1 the three types are the rock hyrax, the yellow- spotted hyrax, and the tree hyrax. The site says that these three species can be seen alot together, but don’t interbreed.
December 9th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Cool post it gave a lot of information. I cant belive that this animal is related to an elephant. It is also cool how it can live in so many diferent habitats, not many animals can live in deserts and rain forests. This is a really cool animal how did you find out about it?
December 9th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Thats very interesting that the rock hyrax is related to an elephant I never would have thought of that. I would have thought more like a rat or another small mouse like creature.
Are their a lot of these species?]
For more pictures and web sites go here.
http://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/338.htm
http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/enghyrax.html?zenden=2&subsoort_id=4&bestemming_id=1
December 9th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
These animals are so cute
This website has more insight to the rock hyrax
http://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/338.htm
December 9th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Wow these rock hyrax are really small. How can they possibly be realted to an elephant? It is really awsome how their habbitats range from a savanah to a rain forest! Thats pretty spectacular! I have a question about their two of their predetors, What are cervals and civets? I have never heard of them before or these rock hyrax! Cool post Will!
December 9th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Great post will! To answer your question, I have never jeard of the animal. The most amazing part was the fact that it was related to the elephant! That’s like a trout being related to a blue whale! My computer is messing up right now, but I will get a website on another comment.
December 9th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Blake, I really don’t remember how I found out about the rock hyrax. Charlotte, just like Rachel P. says, there are three species of hyrax. There is the rock hyrax, the yellow-spotted hyrax, and the tree hyrax.
December 9th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I have never heard of the rock hyrax. That is amazing that an animal that only weighs 5 to 9 pounds can be related to the elephant, such a huge animal! Their bodies kinda resemble that of an elephant, they have a big mid section, and short legs. This is just another example of how much diversity there is out there!
December 9th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
I found this blog absoulutly hilarious, that this creature is actually related to an elephant. I did some research on the evidence and similarites between them. According to this website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/features/155index.shtml , the hyrax has two tusk like teeth. We’ve found that they once lived in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. About 50 million years ago, some forms of hyraxs were as big a hippos!
They are grouped with elephants because they have similar feet and skulls, and gene sequences. They have the same eye-lens protiens and amion acid sequences in their blood haemoglobin. However, there is almost NO fossil evidence that these two are related.
December 9th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
I have never heard of a rock hyrax before. Thats amazing that they are related to an elephant. They look more like a beaver. Its cool how all animals come from another type of animal.
http://www.livingdesert.org/animals/rock_hyrax.asp
December 9th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Wow thats amazing how that animal is closly related to the elephant.
heres another website for this unique animal.
http://www.livingdesert.org/animals/rock_hyrax.asp
December 9th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
No fossil evidence? I’m confused by that statement. There is morphological evidence in the fossils for relatedness to elephants. That they are the closest living relatives to elephants is certainly debatable. They may actually just be an evolutionary outgroup to elephants and manatees.
http://www.evoled.org/images/outgroup.jpg
I’d like to know more about its gestation period. 7-8 months is incredible! Similar sized animals have gestation periods of only 2-3 months. Elephants have a gestation period of 22 months.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:57 am
I can’t believe that this hyrax is related to an elephant, something lik a hundred times its size! And they do not even look alike really. It also says that these animals are not shy, which i think is the complete opposite of elephants. Interesting post!
December 10th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Miss Baker,
I’m sorry, that was a typo. “Almost” no fossil evidence. Like you said, there is obviously morphological evidence in the little fossil evidence they have found.
December 10th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Wow, that is a very interesting little creature. I would never have thought that the rock hyrax was related to an elephant! Or that their common ancestor was a manatee! It was interesting how you said that they once were the size of oxen. What do you think caused them to become so much smaller? It’s cool that this little animal is so unique, it has its own order. Does the tree hyrax live in trees? I couldn’t imagine how that little animal would climb a tree.
December 10th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
That must be a very rare animal! Its cute though. [= I’ve never head ot the Rock Hyrax before, but I would never of guessed that its related to an elefant! By apearence, they look like such opposites. Heres a helpfull website!
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/SmallMammals/fact-hyrax.cfm
December 11th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Yes i think i have heard of a Rock Hyrax. It was on Animal Planet i think. I remember because they said that it was related to elephants. To answer your third question, yes, i have heard of similar situations where small animals have been related to big animals. Everyone that watched jurassic park should remember them mentioning the raptors being related to modern day birds. Just thought I’de point that out!
December 12th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I have never heard of the Rock Hyrax. They are kind of cute. I love it when I hear of new species! It is so cool. When that does happen, I really have to question the phrase/song “it’s a small world”, because in reality, that entire song is not true. There are so many species that have not even been discovered yet. I think that it will be cool to get to heaven and hear about all the animals that we never discovered. How fascintating will that be?
December 13th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
I have definitely not heard of the Rock Hyrax. I think that this is sort of funny that such a small animal is the closest living relative to the elephant. Would of thought the hippo would of been the closest relative to the elephant; mostly because their skin are very similar also they both have tusks.
December 16th, 2007 at 4:13 am
The hyrax in the picture at the top of the page was photographed by me on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya, at an altitude of about 3500 metres. Wherever we camped, there were always several hyrax, as if they knew there might be scraps of food. They showed no fear of humans, and came quite close in order to snaffle food from a plate. Because of this lack of fear, they were very easy to photograph.
December 16th, 2007 at 4:20 am
… and you can see his cousin here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnspooner/1675893179/
December 16th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
… and here is a family of hyrax emerging from a cleft in the rocks on Mount Kenya to bask in the morning sunshine.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnspooner/1732297354/
December 18th, 2007 at 12:36 am
Thank you so much Mr. Spooner for letting us use your picture. Those other pictures you took were very nice as well. I’ll be traveling to Nakuru, Kenya with two of my students next summer. I wonder if we’ll be able to see these interesting animals!
December 18th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Wow, that’s really cool. I felt like I just met a celebrity or something. I think it’s so cool how we are meeting so many different people around the world, even photographers of the pictures on our blogs, just by this blogging website.. Again, I’m really glad that we had the opportunity to do this kind of thing and I am really really upset that I can’t be going on the field trip with you guys. I will keep stopping by the blog to see what’s going on though. I really think these “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” posts..
December 18th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
oh, I for got to add the end of that sentence, lol.
I really think these “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” posts are the most interesting out of all the posts, most the time. We keep discovering all these new things!