Southern tree hyrax

The southern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) or also known as the southern tree dassie is a species of mammal in the family Procaviidae.[4] The southern tree hyrax is mainly found in the south central eastern side of Africa.

Southern tree hyrax[1]

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Hyracoidea
Family: Procaviidae
Genus: Dendrohyrax
Species:
D. arboreus
Binomial name
Dendrohyrax arboreus
(A. Smith, 1827)[3]
Southern tree hyrax range

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 2.27 kg on average, and have an average length of 520 mm.[5][6]

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 4,500 m (14,800 ft).[7][8]

Behaviour

The tree hyrax lives in trees and is mostly nocturnal, as opposed to the rock hyrax which lives among rocks and is mainly diurnal. It occurs singly, in pairs or in small groups, favouring hollow trees and dense foliage. Tree hyrax are extremely able climbers with remarkable balancing skills, they do walk on the ground, but will often 'bounce' along rapidly then stop and then move rapidly again to get to the next piece of cover. Its extraordinary call, heard mainly at night, is a series of blood-curdling shrieks building up to a crescendo. These territorial calls are produced mainly by the males.[9]

Ecology

Martial and tawny eagles, leopards, lions, jackals, spotted hyenas, and snakes prey upon the southern tree hyrax. In Rwanda, the most common predators are feral dogs. The limited amount of time the hyrax spends on the ground at night may be a predator avoidance strategy. Humans sometimes also eat the hyrax.[10]

The eastern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus) was given ecological classification Near Threatened (NT) in 2015.[11]

Diet

The southern tree hyrax is a herbivore. It consumes many different parts of the plants such as the leaves, petioles, twigs, shoots, fleshy fruit, and hard seeds.[12] Individual species are too many to list, but include Hagenia abyssinica, Hypericum revolutum, and Podocarpus falcatus.[8]

Reproduction

Milner and Harris reported that they were unable to determine the mating system but speculated that it may be facultative monogamy/polygyny.[8]

After a gestation period of 7 months, 1–2 young are born. At birth they are well developed and they weigh between 170–200 grams. In rescue conditions they can put on around 4% weight gain per day on a cows milk formula, however some youngsters do not thrive on this formula.

Very young hyraxes have poor coordination. At an estimated age of under one week they cannot follow their mothers along a branch, but their mobility skills develop rapidly. Within two weeks they will use a midden. They will eat a diverse range of leaves, shoots, bark, fruit, and flowers. Youngsters appear to learn what leaves to eat by both watching and tasting what the adult is chewing.

At about five months their fur develops darker spots often around guard hairs. The southern tree hyrax reaches maturity at about 12 months old.[4]

Taxonomy

As of 2018, the most recent treatment of the genus Dendrohyrax retains D. validus as a full species. [13][11]

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References
  1. Shoshani, J. (2005). "Order Hyracoidea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Butynski, T.; Hoeck, H.; de Jong, Y.A. (2015). "Dendrohyrax arboreus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T6409A21282806. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T6409A21282806.en.
  3. Smith, Andrew (1827). "Descriptions of two Quadrupeds inhabiting the South of Africa, about the Cape of Good Hope". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 15 (2): 468. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1826.tb00127.x.
  4. Shorrocks, Bryan (2013-12-16). "Mammals of Africa Volume 1. Introductory Chapters and Afrotheria Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffman Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina. Bloomsbury Publishing, London (2013) 351 pp. ISBN 978-1-4081-2251-8". African Journal of Ecology. 52 (2): 254–255. doi:10.1111/aje.12136. ISSN 0141-6707.
  5. Milner, Jos M.; Harris, Stephen (1999). "Activity patterns and feeding behaviour of the tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus, in the Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda". African Journal of Ecology. 37 (3): 267–280. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2028.1999.00184.x. ISSN 1365-2028.
  6. Foley, Charles, Sonstige (2014). A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania. Princeton University Press. OCLC 1073875063.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Kingdon, J. (1971). East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa. I. London: Academic Press Inc.
  8. Milner, J. M.; Harris, S. (September 1999). "Activity patterns and feeding behaviour of the tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus, in the Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda". African Journal of Ecology. 37 (3): 267–280. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2028.1999.00184.x.
  9. Slattery, Derek M. (September 2003). "Kenya—the Rock and Tree Hyrax or Dassie". PSA Journal: 29–31. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010.
  10. Hoeck, H. (2001). "Hyraxes". In Macdonald, D.; Norris, S. (eds.). The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 448–451.
  11. Hoeck, H.; Rovero, F.; Cordeiro, N.; Butynski, T.; Perkin, A.; Jones, T. (2015). "Dendrohyrax validus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T136599A21288090. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136599A21288090.en.
  12. Gaylard, A.; Kerley, G. I. H. (1997). "Diet of Tree Hyraxes Dendrohyrax arboreus (Hyracoidea: Procaviidae) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa". Journal of Mammalogy. 78 (1): 213–221. doi:10.2307/1382654. JSTOR 1382654.
  13. Kingdon, J.; Butynski, T.; Hoffmann, M.; Happold, M.; Kalina, J. "Genus Dendrohyrax". Mammals of Africa. 1. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 152–171.

Further reading
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