The Mythical Hyrax

Watch out for the yellow-spotted rock hyrax: he's got a mean streak!

My friend Mike is obsessed with two animals found in Jordan: the hyrax and gerboa. I remain skeptical that they even exist at all. However, Mike is adamant that they do, as is someone who wrote articles on them in Wikipedia (it could be that the author and Mike are the same person). The story on hyraxes goes something like this:

Hyraxes are any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals that live in rocky terrain across Africa and the Middle East. They are furry, rotund creatures with a short tail. Most measure between 30–70 cm long and weigh between 2–5 kg.

They are well-adapted to the arid regions of Jordan. They have complex, multi-chambered stomachs that allow symbiotic bacteria to break down tough plant materials, so that they can digest just about any kind of plant. They also have efficient kidneys that allow water retention, and their feet have rubbery pads with numerous sweat glands, helping them grip rocky surfaces.

Hyrax males have a mean streak.  Antagonistic behavior is often displayed by a single male against his rivals when protecting the territory of his small family group. He will growl and chew rapidly and loudly at them. Where there is abundant living space, the male may dominate multiple females, each with their own range. One can only assume that the greater the territory, the nastier the hyrax alpha male.  The remaining males live solitary lives, often on the periphery of areas controlled by larger males.

Where did these alleged creatures come from? The order first appears in the Eocene fossil record over 40 million years ago, and for many millions of years hyraxes were the primary terrestrial herbivore in Africa. Imagine that!  There were many different species, the largest of them about the weight of a small horse, the smallest the size of a mouse. Their numbers began to fall during the Miocene when they competed head to head with recently evolved bovids.  However, despite being pushed into more marginal areas, the order remained widespread, diverse and successful until the beginning of the Pleistocene (2 million years ago). 

The descendants of the really big hyraxes evolved in different ways. Some became smaller, and gave rise to the modern hyrax family. Others appear to have taken to the water (perhaps like the modern capybara), and ultimately gave rise to the elephant family.

Yup. Hyraxes are often described as being the closest living relative to the elephant. They still share numerous features with elephants, such as toenails, excellent hearing, sensitive pads on their feet, small tusks, good memory, high brain functions compared to other similar mammals, and the shape of some of their bones.

Sure thing, Mike.  Yup, mouse-like elephants.
 
 

Mike also really likes unicorns and insists that, like the hyrax, they too exist