Southern Tree Hyrax

Eastern Tree Hyrax[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Superorder: Afrotheria
Order: Hyracoidea
Family: Procaviidae
Genus: Dendrohyrax
Species: D. arboreus
Binomial name
Dendrohyrax arboreus
(A. Smith, 1827)
Southern Tree Hyrax range

The Eastern Tree Dassie, Eastern Tree Hyrax, Southern Tree Dassie, or Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) is a species of mammal in the Procaviidae family. It is found in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, moist savanna, and rocky areas.

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. Though an extremely able climber, it is awkward on the ground and walks with some difficulty. 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. [3][2]

Taxonomy

The previously recognized Dendrohyrax validus True, 1890 (Schlitter, In Wilson and Reeder 1993), called the Mountain Forest Tree Hyrax, is included in Dendrohyrax arboreus until detailed taxonomic research is conducted (Shoshani, In Wilson and Reeder 2005).

References

  1. ^ Shoshani, Jeheskel (16 November 2005). "Order Hyracoidea (pp. 87-89)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=11400004. 
  2. ^ a b Barry, R., Bloomer, P., Hoeck, H. & Shoshani, H. (2008). Dendrohyrax arboreus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 29 December 2008.
  3. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1306/is_9_69/ai_108694197/