The rock hyrax (/ˈhaɪ.ræks/; Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the dassie (IPA: [dasiː]; 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 and tails. 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. Rock hyraxes are squat and heavily built, with adults reaching a length of 50 cm (20 in) and weighing around 4 kg (8.8 lb), with a slight sexual dimorphism, males being about 10% heavier than females. Their fur is thick and grey-brown, although this varies strongly between different environments, from dark brown in wetter habitats, to light gray in desert-living individuals. Hyrax size (as measured by skull length and humerus diameter) is correlated to precipitation, probably because of the effect on preferred hyrax forage. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)