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Tree Hyrax
The tree hyrax or tree dassie is a small nocturnal mammal native to Africa. Distantly related to elephants and sea cows, it comprises the four species in the genus ''Dendrohyrax'', one of only three genera in the family Procaviidae, which is the only living family within the order Hyracoidea. The four species are: * Southern tree hyrax (''D. arboreus''), found in East and Southern Africa * Eastern tree hyrax (''D. validus''), found in East Africa. * Benin tree hyrax (''D''. ''interfluvialis''), found in West Africa. * Western tree hyrax (''D. dorsalis''), found in West and Central Africa Analysis of calls found that they could be divided into 'shrieking' hyraxes and 'barking' hyraxes, with the barkers being a genetically distinct fourth species. The tree hyrax has four-toed front feet and three-toed back feet with rounded nails, and rubbery soles that help it climb. Colouring Dependent on geographical location, their soft dense coats can range from a pale gray to ligh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Tree Hyrax
The western tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax dorsalis''), also called the western tree dassie or Beecroft's tree hyrax, is a species of tree hyrax within the family Procaviidae. It can be distinguished from other hyraxes by short coarse fur, presence of white patch of fur beneath the chin, lack of hair on the rostrum, and lower crowns of the cheek teeth compared to other members of the same genus. Description The western tree hyrax is similar in appearance to a large guinea pig. It has a head-and-body length of between and a stumpy tail. The pelage is thick and coarse, with a few yellowish hairs scattered among the dark brown and blackish ones; pale individuals with cream-coloured coats have also been observed. Scattered long sensory hairs similar to whiskers are present in the coat. The snout is free from fur, the ears are small and rounded and sometimes tipped with white, and the chin bears a white spot. There is a dorsal scent gland up to long in the centre of the back, surrounded b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyracoidea
Hyraxes (), 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 long and weigh between . They are superficially similar to pikas and marmots, but are more closely related to elephants and sea cows. Hyraxes have a life span from 9 to 14 years. Five extant species are recognised: the rock hyrax (''Procavia capensis'') and the yellow-spotted rock hyrax (''Heterohyrax brucei''), which both live on rock outcrops, including cliffs in Ethiopia and isolated granite outcrops called koppies in southern Africa; the western tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax dorsalis''), southern tree hyrax (''D. arboreus''), and eastern tree hyrax (''D. validus''). Their distribution is limited to Africa, except for ''P. capensis'', which is also found in the Middle East. Characteristics Hyraxes retain or have redeveloped a number of primitive mammalian characteristics; in particular, they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyraxes
Hyraxes (), 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 long and weigh between . They are superficially similar to pikas and marmots, but are more closely related to elephants and sea cows. Hyraxes have a life span from 9 to 14 years. Five extant species are recognised: the rock hyrax (''Procavia capensis'') and the yellow-spotted rock hyrax (''Heterohyrax brucei''), which both live on rock outcrops, including cliffs in Ethiopia and isolated granite outcrops called koppies in southern Africa; the western tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax dorsalis''), southern tree hyrax (''D. arboreus''), and eastern tree hyrax (''D. validus''). Their distribution is limited to Africa, except for ''P. capensis'', which is also found in the Middle East. Characteristics Hyraxes retain or have redeveloped a number of primitive mammalian characteristics; in particular, they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hagenia Abyssinica
''Hagenia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plant with the sole species ''Hagenia abyssinica'', native to the high-elevation Afromontane regions of central and eastern Africa. It also has a disjunct distribution in the high mountains of East Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia in the north, through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania, to Malawi and Zambia in the south. A member of the rose family, its closest relative is the Afromontane genus '' Leucosidea''. Nomenclature It is known in English as African redwood, East African rosewood, brayera, cusso, hagenia, or kousso, in Amharic as ''kosso'', and in Swahili as ''mdobore'' or ''mlozilozi''. Synonyms of the species include ''Banksia abyssinica'', ''Brayera anthelmintica'', ''Hagenia abyssinica'' var. ''viridifolia'' and ''Hagenia anthelmintica''. Description It is a tree up to 20 m in height, with a short trunk, thick branches, and thick, peeling bark. The leaves are up to 40 cm lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Hyrax
The rock hyrax (; ''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. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the dassie (; af, klipdassie), it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus ''Procavia''. Rock hyraxes weigh and have short ears and tails. Rock hyraxes are found at elevations up to above sea level in habitats with rock crevices, allowing them to escape from predators. They are the only extant terrestrial afrotherians in the Middle East. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. They have been reported to use sentries to warn of the approach of predators. Having incomplete thermoregulation, they are most active in the morning and evening, although their activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate. Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin Tree Hyrax
The Benin tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax interfluvialis'') is a species of tree hyrax within the family Procaviidae Hyraxes (), 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 long and weigh between . They are superficially simi .... It can be distinguished from neighboring '' Dendrohyrax dorsalis'' by its nighttime barking vocalizations, its shorter and broader skull, and its lighter pelage. Its range is the region between the Niger and Volta Rivers in West Africa, hence the specific epithet. References Hyraxes Mammals of West Africa Mammals described in 2021 {{hyracoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Tree Hyrax
The eastern tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax validus'') is a species of mammal within the family Procaviidae. The eastern tree hyrax is the most localized of the tree hyrax species, distributed patchily in a narrow band of lowland and montane forests in Kenya and Tanzania and adjacent islands. Description The eastern tree hyrax is a small, rotund guinea pig-like mammal with dense, soft fur and blunt, nailed toes. They weigh on average 2.75 kg and have a head-body length of 470–558 mm. No tail is discernible. Pelage is variable, with dorsal coloration ranging from cinnamon brown to blackish, and a paler underside. Individuals also have a distinctive dorsal scent gland marked by a contrasting, light-colored patch of hairs. Considerable variation exists between subspecies as currently described. The rostrum is relatively long, but well-haired, unlike the related western tree hyrax. Individuals of this species are difficult to distinguish from the related southern tree hyrax, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Tree Hyrax
The southern tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax arboreus''), also known as the southern tree dassie, is a species of mammal in the family Procaviidae. The southern tree hyrax is mainly found in the south central eastern side of Africa. Description The southern tree hyrax has a guinea pig-like appearance. It has long, soft, grey-brown fur that covers the body, while the underside is paler. Hairs are lighter near their tips and the ears have a fringe of white hair. They weigh about on average, and have an average length of . Distribution and habitat It is found in Angola, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, moist savanna, and rocky areas. It may be found at elevations up to . Behaviour The tree hyrax lives in trees and is mostly noc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procaviidae
Hyraxes (), 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 long and weigh between . They are superficially similar to pikas and marmots, but are more closely related to elephants and sea cows. Hyraxes have a life span from 9 to 14 years. Five extant species are recognised: the rock hyrax (''Procavia capensis'') and the yellow-spotted rock hyrax (''Heterohyrax brucei''), which both live on rock outcrops, including cliffs in Ethiopia and isolated granite outcrops called koppies in southern Africa; the western tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax dorsalis''), southern tree hyrax (''D. arboreus''), and eastern tree hyrax (''D. validus''). Their distribution is limited to Africa, except for ''P. capensis'', which is also found in the Middle East. Characteristics Hyraxes retain or have redeveloped a number of primitive mammalian characteristics; in particular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a zoological name. Gray was keeper of zoology at the British Museum in London from 1840 until Christmas 1874, before the natural history holdings were split off to the Natural History Museum. He published several catalogues of the museum collections that included comprehensive discussions of animal groups and descriptions of new species. He improved the zoological collections to make them amongst the best in the world. Biography Gray was born in Walsall, but his family soon moved to London, where Gray studied medicine. He assisted his father in writing ''The Natural Arrangement of British Plants'' (1821). After being blackballed by the Linnean Society of London, Gray shifted his interest from botany to zoology. He began his zoologica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus '' Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. phylogenetic analysis should clearly demons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles (including birds) from which they diverged in the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described divided into 29 orders. The largest orders, in terms of number of species, are the rodents, bats, and Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and others). The next three are the Primates (including humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Artiodactyla ( cetaceans and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, seals, and others). In terms of cladistics, which reflects evolutionary history, mammals are the only living members of the Synapsida (synapsids); this clade, together with Saur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
