“Southern tree hyrax”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The southern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) or also known as the southern tree dassie is a species of mammal in the family Procaviidae. The southern tree hyrax is mainly found in the south central eastern side of Africa.

Description

The southern tree hyrax has a guinea pig-like appearance. It has long, soft, grey-brown fur that covers the body, while the underside is paler. Hairs are lighter near their tips and the ears have a fringe of white hair. They weigh about 2.27 kg on average, and have an average length of 520 mm.{{cn|date=December 2018}}

Distribution and habitat

It is found in Angola, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique,and South Africa. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, moist savanna, and rocky areas. It may be found at elevations up to {{convert|4500|m|abbr=on}}.^[4]^[5]

Arboreal behavior

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. Tree hyrax are extremely able climbers with remarkable balancing skills, they do walk on the ground, but will often 'bounce' along rapidly then stop and then move rapidly again to get to the next piece of cover. 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.^[6]

Ecology

Martial and tawny eagles, leopards, lions, jackals, spotted hyenas, and snakes prey upon the southern tree hyrax. In Rwanda, the most common predators are feral dogs. The limited amount of time the hyrax spends on the ground at night may be a predator avoidance strategy. Humans sometimes also eat the hyrax.^[7]

The eastern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus) was given ecological classification Near Threatened (NT) in 2015.^[8]

Diet

The southern tree hyrax is a herbivore. It consumes many different parts of the plants such as the leaves, petioles, twigs, shoots, fleshy fruit, and hard seeds.^[8] Individual species are too many to list, but Hagenia abyssinica, Hypericum revolutum, and Podocarpus falcatus are the most common.^[5]

Reproduction and life cycle

Milner and Harris reported that they were unable to determine the mating system but speculated that it may be facultative monogamy/polygyny.^[5] After a gestation period of 7 months, 1-2 young are born. At birth they are well developed and they weigh between 170 to below 200 gms. In rescue conditions they can put on around 4% weight gain per day on a cows milk forumla, however some youngsters do not flourish on this formula. At about five months their fur develops darker spots often around guard hairs. Very young hyraxes have poor coordination and under an estimated week of age they cannot follow their mothers back along a branch. Their mobility skills develop rapidly. Within two weeks they will use a midden. Youngsters appear to learn what leaves to eat by both watching and tasting what the adult is chewing. They will eat a diverse range of leaves, shoots, bark, fruit, and flowers. The southern tree hyrax reaches maturity at about 12 months old.{{cn|date=December 2018}}

Taxonomy

References

1. ^{{MSW3 Hyracoidea | id = 11400004 | page = 87}}
2. ^{{Cite journal | last1 = Butynski |first1=T. | last2= Hoeck |first2= H. | last3= de Jong |first3= Y.A. | title = Dendrohyrax arboreus | journal = The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | volume = 2015 | page = e.T6409A21282806 | publisher = IUCN | date = 2015 | url = http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6409/0 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T6409A21282806.en |doi-access=free | access-date = 13 December 2017}}
3. ^{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Andrew|title=Descriptions of two Quadrupeds inhabiting the South of Africa, about the Cape of Good Hope.|journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London|date=1827|volume=15|issue=2|page=468|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1826.tb00127.x|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/778737}}
4. ^{{cite book|last=Kingdon |first=J. |date=1971 |title=East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa |volume=I |location= London |publisher=Academic Press Inc.}}{{pageneeded|date=December 2018}}
5. ^¹²{{cite journal|last1=Milner|first1=J. M.|last2=Harris|first2=S.|title=Activity patterns and feeding behaviour of the tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus, in the Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda|journal=African Journal of Ecology|date=September 1999|volume=37|issue=3|pages=267–280|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2028.1999.00184.x}}
6. ^{{cite journal|last=Slattery |first=Derek M. |title=Kenya—the Rock and Tree Hyrax or Dassie |journal=PSA Journal |date=September 2003 |pages=29–31 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1306/is_9_69/ai_108694197/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308101728/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1306/is_9_69/ai_108694197/|archive-date=8 March 2010}}
7. ^{{cite book|last=Hoeck |first= H. |date=2001 |chapter= Hyraxes |pages=448–451 |editor1-first=D. |editor1-last= Macdonald |editor2-first=S. |editor2-last=Norris |title=The New Encyclopedia of Mammals |location= Oxford, UK |publisher= Oxford University Press}}
8. ^{{cite journal|last1=Gaylard|first1=A.|last2=Kerley|first2=G. I. H.|title=Diet of Tree Hyraxes Dendrohyrax arboreus (Hyracoidea: Procaviidae) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|date=1997|volume=78|issue=1|pages=213–221|doi=10.2307/1382654}}
9. ^{{cite book|first1=J. |last1= Kingdon|first2=T. |last2= Butynski|first3=M. |last3=Hoffmann|first4=M.|last4= Happold|first5=J. |last5=Kalina|chapter=Genus Dendrohyrax |title= Mammals of Africa |volume=1|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|location=London|pages=152–171}}
10. ^¹{{cite journal | last1= Hoeck |first1= H. |last2= Rovero |first2= F. |last3=Cordeiro |first3= N. |last4= Butynski |first4= T. |last5= Perkin |first5= A. |last6= Jones |first6= T. | title = Dendrohyrax validus | journal = IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | volume= 2015 | page = e.T136599A21288090 | publisher = IUCN | year = 2015 | url = http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/136599/0 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136599A21288090.en |doi-access=free | accessdate = 27 May 2018}}