HYRAX

also called Dassie, any of the small hoofed mammals of the order Hyracoidea. Both hyraxes and the unrelated pikas (order Lagomorpha) are also sometimes called rock rabbits; the term is misleading for hyraxes, which are neither rabbits nor exclusively rock dwellers. The term cony (coney) in the Bible actually refers not to the true cony (also a lagomorph) but to the hyrax. Hyraxes, native to Africa and extreme southwestern Asia, are rodentlike animals with plump heads; short necks, ears, and tails; short, slender legs; and squat bodies. Anatomically, they are characterized by small hoofs on the first and third digits of the hind foot (the middle digit is clawed); a scent gland on the back; a pair of curved, continuously growing upper incisors; four chisellike lower incisors; and rhinoceros-like molars. The rock hyraxes (Heterohyrax) and rock dassies, or conies (Procavia), are terrestrial animals that live in groups among rocks and are active by day. The tree, or bush, hyraxes (Dendrohyrax) are arboreal, solitary, and nocturnal. Hyraxes are primarily vegetarian. As adults they are about 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 inches) long and weigh about 4 to 5 kg (8 to 11 pounds). They are agile and climb well with the aid of special pads on their feet. One to three fully furred young are born after a gestation period of about seven or eight months. Natural enemies of hyraxes are pythons, eagles, and large cats. The phylogenetic relationships of hyraxes are not clear. Their fundamental characters indicate that the group may be an ancient and unprogressive offshoot derived from the ungulate (hoofed mammal) stem. Fossils are known from the mid-Oligocene (about 30 million years ago); most of these early hyraxes were large, the largest perhaps as big as a modern horse.