File:Rock_hyrax_Serengeti_National_Park.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Procavia capensis
Sign in to saveAlso known as Cape hyrax, rock hyrax, rock rabbit, dassie
species of mammal
OverviewAI-generated
*Procavia capensis*, commonly known as the rock hyrax or rock dassie, is a species within the family Procaviidae. It belongs to the order Hyracoidea, class Mammalia, phylum Chordata, and kingdom Animalia. The species was originally described by Pallas in 1766.
This diurnal mammal has a gestation period of 225 days and typically produces a litter size of 3. The longest observed lifespan for the species is 14.8 years. Its IUCN conservation status is listed as Least Concern, a designation recorded in 2015.
Specimen records and occurrences are documented in institutions such as UWZM, MVZ, UWBM, RBINS-SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE, and UMZM. These records originate from countries including Zimbabwe, South Africa, the United States, Kenya, and Botswana.
Synthesized by Vinony from 32 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, IUCN Red List, Gbif Occ, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Species
Least ConcernProcavia capensis
SPECIES
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderHyracoidea
- FamilyProcaviidae
via GBIF · IUCN
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 1,228
- With media
- 59
- Family
- Procaviidae
- Collections
- UWZM, MVZ, UWBM, RBINS-SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE, UMZM, ASNHC
- Recorded in
- Zimbabwe, South Africa, United States, Kenya, Botswana
Bird sounds
- call· South Africa· quality A
- call· Oman· quality A
- call· Zimbabwe· quality A
- call· Botswana· quality A
via Xeno-canto
Wikidata facts
Show 12 more facts
- taxon rank
- species
- IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern
- taxon name
- Procavia capensis
- Commons category
- Procavia capensis
- Commons gallery
- Procavia capensis
- taxon common name
- Klippschliefer
- gestation period
- 225
- litter size
- 3
- longest observed lifespan
- 14.8
- sequenced genome URL
- www.ensembl.org/Procavia_capensis
- diel cycle
- diurnality
- short name
- P. capensis
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~14 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The rock hyrax (/ˈhaɪ.ræks/; Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Rickaz, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, or coney (in early English Bible translations), is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly called the dassie in South Africa (/ˈdæsi/; Afrikaans: klipdassie), it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia. Rock hyraxes weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb) and have short ears.
Rock hyraxes are found at elevations up to 4,200 m (13,800 ft) 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Procavia capensis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.