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Dendrohyrax arboreus
Order: Hyracoidea > Family: Procaviidae > Genus: Dendrohyrax > Species: Dendrohyrax arboreus
Common Name: Southern Tree Hyrax [English]
Figure 1. FMNH 155377 – Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) Courtesy of: P. Lai. (c) Field Museum of Natural History. https://mm.fieldmuseum.org/dffce364-4f57-4b46-91a7-7bb937d60ea9 (accessed on 16 Nov 2025)
Figure 2. FMNH 17501 - Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) Courtesy of: P. Lai, R. A. Banasiak. (c) Field Museum of Natural History. https://mm.fieldmuseum.org/a4daf36e-1499-4a05-b7d8-7c739645504b (accessed on 16 Nov 2025)
Type Description
Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond., 15:468
Type Locality
South Africa, Western Cape Prov., forests of Cape of Good Hope.
Measurements
Total length: 405-600 mm
Weight: 1500-3350 g
Weight: 1500-3350 g
Description
Commonly hunted for food, tree hyraxes are very vocal at night with regional variation in calls. Look for elongate fingers, long black hairs protruding from a dark fur and a concave profile to the skull when viewed from the side.
Distribution
Dendrohyrax arboreus is abundant throughout galleries, riverine strips, montane forests and relics, and dry areas with Acacia growth from sea-level to 4,500 m. This species is distributed from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in the north down into the southern Congo and Zambia and along the montane areas around Lake Malawi with a couple small isolated areas in Mozambique and South Africa. (Kingdon,,1984, 1997)
Figure 3. Distribution map of Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) (c) Field Museum of Natural History. https://mm.fieldmuseum.org/52eada56-fb27-41e7-abb2-d42ab3400afd (accessed on 16 Nov 2025)
Key References
1. Kingdon, J. 1984. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1:344-351.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 300-301.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1041, 1046-1047.
4. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 300-301.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1041, 1046-1047.
4. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.