#hyrax

[nightjarring]

When I'm a small prey mammal and I've evolved to survive the barren rocky landscape by optimizing into a tan egg

[amnhnyc]

🧬DNA sequencing has revealed that elephants belong in a superorder called Afrotheria—meet their closest relatives!

🐘Learn more at the Museum’s new exhibition The Secret World of Elephants. Discover new science about both ancient and modern elephants, see full-scale models of proboscideans, and more.

🦃Visiting the Museum this Thanksgiving? Best availability is on Monday and Tuesday of that week. Here are a few tips!

[blackirishweab]

I love this video so much

[thereissomethingunderthestairs]

Lesser known small mammals (or mammals whenever i bring up people have no idea what im talking about)

Quoll ..a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia that spends most of the day sleeping in its dens. there have been 111 recorded events of quolls eating human remains (x) (pictured here is a spotted-tail quoll)

Numbat..an insectivorous marsupial from Australia that is diurnal (or is primarily active during the day). unlike other mammals that primarily eat termites, they have a jaw with 50 very small teeth. they live in tree hollows and block the openings with the thick hide of their rump

Hyrax ..a small thickset herbivorous mammal that is more closely related to elephants and sea cows than pikas and marmots. theyre found in africa, and they have rubbery paw pads that help them climb up rocks (this is a rock hyrax)

Solenodon... a venomous, insectivorous little mammal that is easily provoked into a frenzy of squeaking and biting. it uses echolocation to compensate for its poor eyesight, and females have two teats almost located on its backside (above is a cuban solenodon)

Sengi (elephant shrews (or better known as the get a look at the snout species))...is another insectivore that is more closely related to elephants than true shrews. they live in southern Africa and have relatively large brains for their size (a respectable 11 inches) (this is a black and rufous sengi)

Tenrec..omnivorous little mammal that lives in land, sea, underground, and in trees. there are many different subspecies of tenrec that can look like hedgehogs, opossums, rats, and shrews (this is one is a lowland streaked tenrec from madagascar)

[vintagewildlife]

Rock hyraxes By: K. Fink From: The Complete Encyclopedia of the Animal World 1980

[textless]

Hello, hyrax family!

These rock hyraxes live on the grounds at the Emakoko Lodge in Nairobi. They look rodent-like, but they are descended from a common ancestor with the elephant, and you can see the resemblance in their toes, and their little tusks (though no tusks are pictured here).

Hyraxes live in groups, eat plants, and retreat to rock crevices or similar places to hide from predators. At the Emakoko, they like to lounge on top of the smaller buildings, soaking up warmth from the solar water heaters. They are roughly rabbit-sized, but sound 100% elephant when they gallop across the roof.

[troythecatfish]

[lost-lycaon]

Rock hyraxes live together in groups of 10-75, and tend to forage together. They can eat nearly any plant material, which allows them to survive in hostile habitats with marginal nutrition. These groups are egalitarian in nature, with no real dominance hierarchy.

[unechienandalusia]

deeply unserious animals

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus)

(Photo by Charles Sharp)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Southeastern Africa

Size (Weight/Length)- 3 kg; 55 cm

Diet- Leaves; Fruit; Seeds

Cool Facts- Hyraxes, surprisingly enough, are more closely related to elephants than rodents. The southern tree hyrax is a nocturnal critter who spends most of their life in the treetops. When food is plentiful, the hyraxes gather in small groups for safety against predators. They dart quickly across the ground, from tree to tree, before easily scaling the branches. Male southern tree hyraxes have a frankly horrific call similar to that of a woman screaming with laughter. Female tree hyraxes go through a seven month pregnancy, an extremely long time for such a small animal. Baby hyraxes are born with open eyes but cannot climb a tree for several weeks due to terrible coordination.

Rating- 12/10 (Also called a southern tree dassie.)

Requested by @trash-sidhe

[tiredsoundsofagnes]

obsessed with these creatures

[inatungulates]

Betton's tree hyrax Dendrohyrax arboreus bettoni

Observed by burakdogansoysal, CC BY-NC

[dougielombax]

The POWER that we are dealing with here, is IMMEASURABLE!

[possumcollege]

Shout out to Afrotheria, a whole clade of animals that must've mocked God for old-timey white people.

[vintagewildlife]

A family of hyraxes By: R. Kemp From: The Complete Encyclopedia of the Animal World 1980