The hyrax is a small, furry herbivore native to Africa and the Middle East that looks like a chunky guinea pig or rabbit, but is actually one of the closest living relatives to the elephant. Despite weighing only around 4 to 12 pounds, these small creatures share a common ancient ancestor with elephants and manatees from over 50 to 60 million years ago. They belong to the mammalian superorder Afrotheria and the clade Panungulata. Evolutionary Links to Elephants
While they moved down vastly different evolutionary paths, hyraxes still retain several distinct anatomical traits linking them directly to elephants:
Leave a Reply