NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Rock Hyrax
Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Rock hyrax in Serengeti National Park in June 2008.
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Open encyclopedia reference
The rock hyrax (; Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Rickaz, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, or coney (in early English Bible translations), is a medium-sized terrestrial hyrax native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly called the dassie in South Africa (; 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.
Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest.
Wikipedia contributors, Rock hyrax; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:53:50.551660+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Pallas, 1766)
- Common name
- Rock Hyrax
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Hyracoidea
- Family
- Procaviidae
- Genus
- Procavia
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderHyracoidea Huxley, 1869
- familyProcaviidae Thomas, 1892
- genusProcavia Storr, 1780
- speciesProcavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Heterohyrax brucei antineae (Heim de Balsac & Bégouen, 1932) (Heim de Balsac & Bégouen, 1932) | synonym |
| Heterohyrax antineae (Heim de Balsac & Bégouen, 1932) (Heim de Balsac & Bégouen, 1932) | synonym |
| Cavia capensis Pallas, 1766 Pallas, 1766 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584911 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4MMMH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.