This Furry Potato Is An Evolutionary Mystery

Hyraxes are furry potatoes that look a lot like rodents, but at the mammal family reunion, you won’t find them sitting by the groundhogs and chinchillas. Instead, their actual cousins are elephants and sea cows…and we’re not sure which is closer.
Subscribe to the pin club here: complexly.stor...
This month's pin is designed by Kay Powell. You can find out more about them and their work here: www.simkaye.com/
You can cancel any time by emailing [e-mail]
Follow us on socials:
Twitter: / bizarrebeasts
Instagram: / bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: / bizarrebeastsshow
#BizarreBeasts #hyrax
-----
Sources:
www.researchga...
www.sciencedir...
www.britannica...
www.department...
researchspace....
animaldiversit...
epub.ub.uni-mu...
www.tandfonlin...
www.sciencedir...
archive.org/de...
www.sciencedir...
www.sciencedir...
academic.oup.c...
www.scientific...
www.scielo.org....
pubmed.ncbi.nl...
doi.org/10.115...
digitallibrary...
academic.oup.c...
www.pnas.org/d...
scholar.sun.ac...
www.biorxiv.or...
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
www.mayoclinic...
www.nationalge...
www.science.or...
www.science.or...
www.sciencedir....
------
Images:
docs.google.co...

[@sarab3888]

"they can sound truly horrible" proceeds to play cute bird like noise

[@9Guzzy9]

Was gonna make this exact comment hahaha

[@feralbluee]

i agree they sounded at first like a bird, but then like little monkeys to me. certainly not a scream or awful sound. it’s downright cute as they are. :) 🐀🦡🦫🦦no - 🦭🐘yes weird. evolution is sometimes just plain weird. for instance, hyenas are NOT canids (🐕), they are really felids (🐆🐈). parallel evolution like the hydraxes to rodents. i know the whales returned to the oceans, but what about dolphins, which include Orcas?? have to look that up. 🌷🌱

[@feralbluee]

i agree they sounded at first like a bird, but then like little monkeys to me. certainly not a scream or awful sound. it’s downright cute as they are. :) 🐀🦡🦫🦦no - 🦭🐘yes weird. evolution is sometimes just plain weird. for instance, hyenas are NOT canids (🐕), they are really felids (🐆🐈). parallel evolution like the hydraxes to rodents. i know the whales returned to the oceans, but what about dolphins, which include Orcas?? have to look that up. 🌷🌱

[@colorbugoriginals4457]

​@@Goodboy77717.omg I looked it up and their growls sound like a giant's wet farts 😮😢

[@sarab3888]

@@Goodboy77717 I mean just look at barn owls, adorable birds with big eyes they make horrible screeching noises

[@Fayanora]

"Fossilized urine" is a sequence of words I never would have imagined in a thousand years.

[@superbacedia0476]

if I remember correctly, it is mined for use in perfumes.

[@pattheplanter]

@@superbacedia0476 Correct.

[@me0101001000]

@@superbacedia0476 fascinating. Before I go googling, you wouldn't happen to know the specific component that people look for, do you?

[@FischerNilsA]

Not that rare - other species fecal middens also fossilize and get analyzed. I seem to remember one team analyzing archeological remains of some desert-dwelling social rat species to analyze the Pueblo culture development. See what the rats eat, and you can make good guesses about how humans formed the landscape in what era. And super-duper well dateable due to the layered nature and mixed-in biologicals you can carbon date. Some of those rat "nests" where stable for hundreds of years if I remember right. . And of course human latrine pits - if dry enough to survive - are every archeologists dream. Koprolites are pure data.

[@olorin4317]

Fairly certain I caught a performance of a punk rock band called, ‘Fossilized Urine Perfume’ in the late nineties, on their east coast tour.

[@jacobbowman8776]

I can't believe a paper I was part of made it into one of these videos! So cool! Hyraxes are weird, so are the other Paenungulates! Our gene analysis showed essentially equal probability for their branching with ~13,500 coding genes and 258 other mammals!

[@miriamrosemary9110]

+

[@Bigdaddyleroy2big]

evolution is a myth.

[@Bigdaddyleroy2big]

evolution is a myth

[@jessam4875]

Well done!

[@jessam4875]

So weird, you’d think they were related to quokkas or wolverines

[@laurachapple6795]

'Furry potato' is a paraphyletic grouping but it's one of my favourite classes of mammal.

[@paulashe61]

It’s a nonsense

[@franciscopineda2594]

I have seen those in the Table mountain in Cape town and they don't look as cute as in the pics

[@nathandwire2103]

Marsupial moles I think are the epitome of the 'furry potato'

[@savannah115]

Mine, too. I believe my corgi is also part of this class.

[@arthurmartin4616]

@@nathandwire2103 Of course it's in australia

[@DJFracus]

The tusks of hyraxes and elephants are formed from their incisor teeth, while all other mammal tusks are formed from canine teeth.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

I love the elephant designs we got before we got the elephant. One of them is has an absolute shovel mouth, and it might be my fave

[@zyxw2000]

Thanks, DJ.

[@mhmpotatoes5373]

@@StonedtotheBones13 platybeledons and gombetheriums are my favs. so special

[@LukeBunyip]

They still look like cute Nosferartu to me...

[@jerijayz3929]

Wow... what are they preparing to eat😮

[@dracodracarys2339]

Elephant shrews being also related to elephants but not to shrews means they should be called shrew elephants instead lmaoo

[@momothebug]

If they were called shrew elephants I think I would be incredibly happy. They're shrew elephants to me now, anyway, but it should be official because who doesn't want shrew elephants 🥺

[@DeinosDinos]

I recall one of the more recent sir David docs where he calls them Sengi out of respect for the local cultures that named it first.

[@nablamakabama488]

I would call them elephant tenreks.

[@alexcallender]

​@@DeinosDinos Wow, that's actually really dumb, cringeworthy, *and* pretentious all at once.

[@jamesharmon3827]

Elephant samples

[@NewMessage]

I've never seen a foot that better epitomized the word 'tootsies' than a Hyrax's tootsies.

[@firstcynic92]

They're made of chewy chocolate?

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

+

[@colonelkernal297]

This

[@Carewolf]

So elephants went into the water and became sea cows, then they came back out of the water and became weird hard rock rats

[@NekoNinja13]

thats almost the opposite of what the video suggested 😅

[@Billionth_Kevin]

A mammal went into the water to become sea cows, then followed a story of 3 siblings, one stayed, one left to become elephants and one one left to become furry potatoes

[@Jadeserphant]

@@Billionth_Kevin Ok that explanation is brilliant, created imagery in my mind that made me giggle and also made me want to write a short story/ fairy tale.

[@logenvestfold4143]

This mammal is more basal than elephants and manatees, their common ancestor would look more like this little guy.

[@pattheplanter]

@@Billionth_Kevin A dugelephrax went for a dive in some shallow waters eating river weeds and was so successful that they went on to diversify and colonise the sea, savannah/forests and mountains.

[@rooislangwtf]

Thumbnail: what's this thing? South Africans: a dassie

[@ridgeswartz7709]

Sees another South African, likes the comment 😂

[@poepflater]

@@ridgeswartz7709 There are troops of these just basking in the sun around the tourist areas on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The local ones are nice and fat, and bigger than a cat

[@ridgeswartz7709]

@@poepflater a couple of these guys made a nest in the engine bay of a family members car. Needless to say, the mechanic got a surprise when he opened it up.

[@avantgardeangel1879]

THANK YOU !shoutout hermanus lol

[@sainjawoof3506]

Do you know how long it was till I found out that is just our name for them?! 😂

[@pattheplanter]

You missed that the hyraceum (old hyrax latrines) is sold as an ingredient for high-class natural perfumes. It has intense musky properties that are valued for being a completely ethical alternative to the usual natural musks which can only be harvested by killing the entire deer, civet or beaver. It is also much cheaper. The raw material cannot be imported to the US or Australia.

[@censusgary]

Why do the U.S. and Australia forbid the importation of hyraceum?

[@pattheplanter]

@@censusgary Not a clue, unless it is an attempt to preserve the ancient scientific data from the strata. Probably just too smelly for the couriers.

[@mygirldarby]

Where did you read that it was banned in us and Australia? You can buy it online. The perfume industry banned animal musks like deer and beaver. One reason hyraceum can be viewed as unethical to harvest is that it is considered a non-renewable resource and it takes a very long time for it to build up enough to harvest. It is used to determine environmental changes in Africa, as you mentioned, so that could be why it is considered unethical to get it from certain African countries. I don't think it's banned, though but I could be wrong. You can buy it online in the US.

[@3mileshi]

And you missed the other perfume base: ambergris, from whales

[@pattheplanter]

@@3mileshi You don't have to kill a whale to get ambergris, most is collected from the sea or seashore. Listing all perfume fixatives was not the aim of my comment.

[@Tser]

Hyrax babies are ridiculous cute, I'm not sure I realized how cute until I saw the footage at 7:53. Such big heads.

[@SpukiTheLoveKitten75]

Cutest fur-tatoes ever!

[@celine9322]

😍😍😍

[@nairbvel]

Humans: "So where in the mammal family tree do they fit in?" Hyraxes: "We don't! Bwa ha ha ha haaa..."

[@sainjawoof3506]

In South Africa, rock hyraxes are found on Table Mountain, and it's the best view!! The common local name being "dassie." I was so incredibly lucky to cuddle and interact with some in a game reserve.

[@AnneAndersonFoxiepaws]

"Dassie" really suits them!

[@KonradvonHotzendorf]

You cuddled a Dassie🤨 Where? I want to go report those people😊

[@sainjawoof3506]

@@KonradvonHotzendorfA trip to Kenya, in East Tsavo, at a guest lodge. They hang out around the pool area, and will hop onto your lap. If you're patient and able to keep calm, they will use you as a rock 🪨 to perch on, in exchange for you holding a branch of leaves up for them.

[@KonradvonHotzendorf]

@@sainjawoof3506 That's so😎

[@kim1570]

​@@sainjawoof3506 Eyy, thanks for that info! 😄 I'm Kenyan, and now I know where to cuddle one of these little fur balls 😊 I'm aware that there are plenty of these fellows on Mt Kenya but i wasn't aware they were at Tsavo too. Thanks!

[@Beryllahawk]

I recall the very first time I heard of the hyrax. Our entire class looked at the picture and said: It's an angry hamster. Our professor had no idea about the creature's actual lineage or anything, it was simply a picture of "neat wildlife near the archaeological dig," haha!

[@-jank-willson]

south africa?

[@GeckoHiker]

I think of all hamsters as angry little hermits. Touch at your own risk. But I have no fear touching a strange fancy rat and asking for a nose boop. Rats are usually very friendly.

[@Liriq]

The rock hyrax is common where I live. Hot, dry, and rock-y mountains. It's a weird animal. They look both serious and cute, and you can't make up your mind on which of the two. Difficult to photograph them. They often sitting still, almost frozen, in the rocks, but scoot away super fast with any noise. They disappear much quicker than cats.

[@nokari458]

Fat striped gerbils was what I called them

[@polina-rs4lr]

cute, now i really wanna see one. thank you for sharing

[@Mister_Listener]

Yes! The eyebrows give them that sinister vibe, but the button nose and fur is adorable.

[@ThatOtherOakDaniel]

Oh, you mean dassies? :) Having been inspired to look up where we got that name from, seems like the name dassie's root lies in the dutch word das, which refers to badgers. Dassie would be the diminutive form of the noun. Thus dassie would mean something like little badger. I guess you can throw the Mustelids in the hyrax confusion pile as well :D Cheers!

[@Tutterzoid]

Ja, it does look like a Dassie, just more cute :)

[@ThatOtherOakDaniel]

@@Tutterzoid In Afrikaans Hyrax = Dassie Fun isnt it?

[@LillyP-xs5qe]

Me seeing the thumbnail "it's an elephant!" Also me, grew up with rock hyraxes all around me as they are native to that location

[@Balthazar97638]

They can sound truly horrible *plays cute squeaky sound*

[@eileen7303]

yeah, I didn't get that either! 😆

[@fijimermaidfadeto8]

I myself, was also a lonely, misunderstood. Often keening in falsetto, sort of child. 🗣"💦🎶💦🎶💦💨"

[@elaexplorer]

Lol I, literally, said out loud that just sounds like a bird.

[@tinichiatowner1241]

I am 53 years old. I always find it amazing when I can learn something new every day. Thank you.

[@cliffordbowman6777]

Truthfully, Maoist of these facts don’t jive with my teaching, but still great subject matter.

[@janepatton8100]

Did you actually learn it, or were you told that this was true, and just chose to believe it? Don't believe your (ly- ing) eyes, that's not a rodent. That's a small furry elephant.

[@annamarielewis7078]

Me too. Especially cuties like this.

[@Fede_99]

So since you covered Tenrecs and Hyraxes, I suggest another cool bizzarre afrotherian to make a video on, the very obscure but interesting otter shrew, neither an otter or a shrew and it's the only mammal who swims by ondulating sideways (maybe Desmans can do it too but I'm not sure). Hey speaking of Desmans, I say they're also very cool candidates for a themed episode. Hope I'll see them in the future, love your content as always.

[@thekinginyellow1744]

Sea otters scull side to side when they are on their backs on the surface. They use vertical undulations when underwater though.

[@mr.metaphysic1336]

In German, hyraxes are called "Klippschliefer", which literally means "sleeping on cliffs".

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

there are only about 20 actual words in German. everything else is a compound LEGO blocks construction

[@DeadGirlsPoem]

Wikipedia says that Schliefer comes from the verb schliefen, which means to crouch, as Klippschliefer are often found crouching in between rocks. So it's more like rock/cliff croucher.

[@monnoo8221]

@@WeeWeeJumbo so, it was an early assault by the Danish?

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

That might be schläfer, or it doesn't make sense.. in Dutch Klipdas (Badger), in Afrikaans Dassie, Spain is called aftrer the hebrew name for the animal, because the Phoenicians thought the animals they saw in Spain were Hyraxes, they weren't they saw rabbits...it is a confusing animal :)

[@jan_Masewin]

THIS IS A KLIPPSCHLIEFER IT SHLIEFS ON KLIPPS

[@aadamabdullah2549]

I'm from Cape Town, and I see rock hyraxes all the time. We call them dassies here.

[@ross5839]

Do they make terrifying sounds like the video claims?

[@aadamabdullah2549]

@@ross5839 I can neither confirm nor deny this, I've actually never heard them vocalise

[@rfldss89]

You're telling me prehistoric fish decided they'd had enough of living in salty broth and evolved all that is necessary to live on land, only for a mammal to then decide to take such a long bath they ended up living there, AND then some swimming mammal decided to grow legs again??? It's a prank on a prank on a prank on God

[@brickch4pel]

It's one of my favorite things about reality: Given sufficient time, even the implausible occurrence becomes possible

[@MrJdsenior]

It's just a matter of environmental pressure, probably. Environments change.

[@HidingAllTheWay]

The common ancestor likely never fully lost their legs, being more along lines of otters than sea cows or seals.

[@williamgilbert-vr5eq]

Yeah the common ancestor was more like a hippo, fat little thing that swam but still grazed on land

[@Wishbone1977]

This thought occurred to me just a couple of days ago while watching a dinosaur video, in which I learned that sauropods (which are famously 4-legged) evolved from 2-legged sauropodomorphs, which themselves evolved from earlier 4-legged animals. The thought this gave rise to was the following: I wonder which branch of the evolutionary tree holds the record for evolving the same trait the most times?

[@ThePawsOfDeception]

The adults may like nothing better than to lie around sunbathing but the young ones are a lot more active! Some years ago I walked to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, sat down on a rock to eat a bar of chocolate for some much needed energy and was suddenly covered in baby dassies who apparently must have a very sweet tooth. All I could do was hold the chocolate above my head like the Statue of Liberty clutching her torch while they all tried desperately to clamber up my arm to get to it. It was like being mugged by squeaky teddy bears!

[@KonradvonHotzendorf]

Ewww nope. 😅 Babies don't go very far from their mothers or guardians. Dassies avoid humans(legall to hunt them outside Nature Reserves) They have lots of predators and defend themselves viciously. You wouldn't have had a fuzzy happy time

[@janegarnham]

😅 😂 there could be money for tourist operators replicating this. (Joke)

[@jeremyacton4569]

In South Africa, we call them 'dassies'. Aged Hyrax urine, known as 'dassiepis' is used as a medicine by traditional Bushdoctors among the Khoi and San people. (possibly for similar reasons to the use of 'shilajit', in the Himalayas.)

[@Nwladylaura369]

🤢

[@nocurefordumb]

South African here. We love our dassie ❤. Pronounced dussy 😄. And they are very quiet. You seldom actually hear them.

[@silvertongue3003]

Dussy? You mean like P….

[@judithvorster2515]

@@silvertongue3003 Sadly, nope. 'Dassie' as in 'dahsy' - but with a short British 'ah' rather than the American drawn out version. But very funny comment, @solvertongue :)

[@lumipakkanen3510]

Cyrax -> Mortal Kombat, Hyrax -> Mortal Wombat

[@lafcursiax]

Thank you for featuring hyraxes! I knew about their relatives, but never guessed there were so many more bizarre things about them! And that baby hyrax is super adorable (so is the "truly horrible" hyrax sound, tbh)!

[@SlayMeatClouds]

I feel that some hyraxes look inexplicably like Liam Neeson.

[@penismightier4303]

Is it because they don't have any money, but they do have a very particular set of skills, skills they have acquired over a very long career because they're older than the dinosaurs?

[@user-ii3vn8tn3q]

I see it!

[@corythomas4427]

He will find you, and he will pee on you.

[@samwill7259]

Evolution has no idea what its doing with this group but by god its doing a little bit of everything!

[@geodkyt]

The "Throw Spaghetti At the Wall, And See What Sticks" law. 😂

[@NinaDmytraczenko]

"everyone will do one slide, and then we'll put it together into one presentation", mammal edition

[@EndPoliceBrutailty]

I was thinking the same thing! 🤯😎

[@Eltanin24]

kinda sounds like they were well adapted to warm arid environments .. where temperature regulation is less important, urine that doesn't lose as much water is a big plus, kinda like camels , and ways to use low quality plant materials more efficiently would be a serious advantage. Its curious that they no longer seem to live in arid environments though.. at least amoung the ones shown.

[@Bigdaddyleroy2big]

because evolution doesn't happen beyond micro evolution.

[@deviantmoore9744]

That one peculiar cousin at the family function who has always made everyone wonder if your aunt had an affair.

[@Jadeserphant]

“Screaming teddy bears”. Lololol

[@MayLassie266]

I.e Koalas.

[@SaiyanHeretic]

Hard Polytomy is the name of my Primus ska fusion cover band.

[@mk_rexx]

Sounds like the hottest new band around modern progressive metal

[@-jank-willson]

@@mk_rexx with hip-hop elements

[@kitkat5765]

I learned this from....Kratt's Wild Kreatures, maybe? One of those 90s nature shows I saw as a kid 😅Definitely blew my young mind at the time.

[@susanbooth6793]

I learned this from a kid's book called 'Paws, Hooves and Flippers' inthe early 60s.

[@annamarielewis7078]

I’m 76. Blew my old mind🤣

[@victoriaeads6126]

FUZZY POTATOES!!

[@momothebug]

I knew immediately which animal this was, I'm a long-time hyrax fan. I'm super excited to see them being highlighted, because they're just delightful little creatures. They are small and round, they have cute little faces, the babies are so cute I almost burst into tears just looking at them. They're the perfect creature, in my eyes. I absolutely can't wait to receive my hyrax pin in the mail, it's such a lovely illustration that really captures their little vacant expressions.

[@tsm688]

"the body is round", hyrax version

[@nokari458]

If you do art, what flower would this hyrax live nearby or eat?

[@cassieoz1702]

If I go back far enough, I've got cousins I'd rather not acknowledge.

[@janegarnham]

Underrated comment😂

[@wwondertwin]

Rodent keeper here. I saw those teeth and knew right away this isn't a rodent. Those are clearly tusks.

[@janepatton8100]

Interesting. You actually believe that this obvious rodent is more of a furry elephant than a rodent because they said so... 🤔. I grew up with rodents, and I will tell you that that is a rodent (tusk or not). Taxonomy is based upon assumptions. Therefore, it changes constantly. Notice that after she claimed that the rodent was a furry elephant, she finished the video by stating that taxonomy is nothing more than human classifications. In other words, they're looking at a common protein that this rodent and elephants, manatees, and whales share, and are interpreting this as evidence that the rodent descended from a common ancestor with the 1st two, *(not the 3rd).* That's a humongous leap. And all they're going off of is a blood protein and tusk. Those same scientists could've just as easily looked at the anatomical structures and protein similarities with rodents and put it in that category. You just have to understand the limitations of science.

[@wwondertwin]

@@janepatton8100 It sounds like you didn't study biology beyond the mandatory high school courses.

[@janepatton8100]

@@wwondertwin Stop bleeting... 🐑.

[@wwondertwin]

@@janepatton8100 You know, if you look a few comments below you'll see an actual researcher who did one of the studies referenced posting a comment. Do you dare to present your wacky arguments to him?

[@janepatton8100]

@@wwondertwin So I'm supposed to go looking for a comment you read in a comment section with hundreds of comments for the sake of your confirmation bias... 🤔? And you're calling me the (wa- cky) one? Sir, you can't "research" taxonomy as if it's DNA. It's a CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM. The video literally tells you this. In other words, his opinion (whoever's comment you read) can never be anything more than agreement upon which group they decided to place the animal in... *These animals do not share the same DNA.*

[@Didleeios88]

When I was 18 I camped for a night at the sea of Galilei. These guys were everywhere. We knew them as "rock rabbits". That sounds recording of their screech really brings me back. You have only one clip of their crazy blinking eyes. I'm not sure what is going on with their blink but it's very distinctive and somewhat disturbing. Thanks for the video! It's nice to remember the good old days :)

[@Didleeios88]

7:36 you can see that crazy blink!!

[@MrT_Rex]

Hyrax : hello cousin Elephant : 🤨 Manatee : me too

[@davedaves3489]

Im a career biologist. Nice video. I studied these as an undergrad. Fascinating animals. Ive seen some in Israel. They are very shy and elusive. I appreciate the almost absence of "humor" attempts in the video. Learning about Gd's beautiful world needs 0 "entertainment". It is interesting all by itself b"H. You also didnt mention that paenungulates are unique from other non-marine mammals in that their testicles are always inside the body.

[@seleuf]

"[Hyraxes] may look cute, but they can sound truly horrible." [Insert adorable squeaking]

[@77dreimaldie0]

Never heard of hyraxes and now two videos are uploaded in the same week! Robwords tells today of how Spain was named after hyraxes

[@argenieuwenhuijzen2557]

Their name in Dutch is “klipdas”. I guess that would translate as “cliff badger”.

[@duck8dodgers]

The first time I saw a hyrax was at the Bronx Zoo, and my first thought was "Oh no! A woodchuck somehow got into an exhibit" Luckily I took a closer look before I called for a zookeeper.😂

[@nokari458]

How is a woodchuck most noticed for its difference from a hyrax?

[@jancelabobo8238]

0:36 this drawing is adorable

[@regor2102]

See what you did, now we all want a pet Hyraxs..

[@DeadInside-ew8qb]

A rhino sized one….

[@LawMakerBlu]

Welp, it’s good to know that the Platypus now has a friend who’s just as strange as it is lol.

[@shazwestable]

I live in South Africa, I have a community of Rock Hyrax (approximately 80 of them,) living under my garden shed. We call them "Dassies". One recently moved into my ceiling. I am not happy 😂

[@juliashenandoah3965]

They are so cute, and the specimen at 2:00 looks like a furry vampire version :D

[@Emper-wc7bp]

10/10 potato.

[@juncohill]

I imagine a walrus-like common ancestor that could walk on their flippers like sea lions.

[@Jadeserphant]

Yeah, I’m curious as to what the common ancestor looked like.

[@cacogenicist]

Uh, no. The common ancestor of Paenungulata was a terrestrial mammal. The water adaptations in Sirenia are derived, relatively recent. I'm curious as to how you came up with this idea. 😊

[@juncohill]

​​​​@@cacogenicist @6:53 I didn't come up with it

[@nealjroberts4050]

I'm picturing more a skinny hippo, so semi terrestrial, semj marine. Given that Elephants appear secondarily terrestrial it's possible that they went fully terrestrial at a similar time to the hyraxes while the seacows went fully marine.

[@iammegan6626]

The taxonomy section is even stranger. Parungulate, despite its name, is not a sister group to Ungulates, but in COMPLETELY separate Order. Ungulates are part of Laurasiatheria, which is a large group that generally emerged on the northern continents sometime during the late Cretaceous. Parungulata is part of Afrotheria, which, as the name might suggest, is from Africa. Tenrics are also Afrotheres!

[@grahamthompson5581]

Amazing hyrax fact: Spain (derived from Hispania) was originally named by the Carthaginians, and the name means 'land of the hyraxes'. There are no hyraxes in Spain - apparently the Carthaginians had never seen a rabbit before.

[@WillowGardener]

I guessed elephant! Do I get a prize?

[@Skibbityboo0580]

I clicked the thumbs up icon for you. How about that?

[@firstcynic92]

You get a no-prize

[@BrotherAlpha]

I guessed Hippo, which I think is relatively close. If you were to combine an elephant and a manatee you would get a hippo, so I'm giving myself partial credit.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

@@firstcynic92 Ooh, a fellow old school nerd, are we? Respect!

[@WillowGardener]

@@Skibbityboo0580 I was hoping for a hyrax pup but I suppose an updoot will do

[@idunnodudes883]

they're super common in South Africa and we call them Dassies. they're assholes, though, they fight my cats and scream right at my window.

[@TheThrivingTherapsid]

2:00 Respect to the brave photographer who risked his life taking this photo.

[@stormycatmink]

You know, the suction cup paws would be a great adaptation for an aquatic species crawling out of the water on wet, slippery rocks. Especially excreting a special slime to help it when it's wet.

[@GaryDunion]

I've wondered for a little while if there are any secondarily terrestrial animals, hyraxes and elephants would be the first ones I've come across!

[@cacogenicist]

What do you mean by secondarily in this context? They do not derive from anything like a manatee/ dugong. The common ancestor of hyraxes, elephants, and manatees was a terrestrial mammal.

[@GaryDunion]

​@@cacogenicist I was responding to the findings described from 6:15 which suggest that's not the case!

[@justsomeofmyfavs]

​@@cacogenicistIt was most probably semi-aquatic. Still terrestrial, but not completely. Kind of like otter or even sea otter (which is even more aquatic than terrestrial).

[@victoriabaker4400]

@@cacogenicist Not according to this video. There is evidence that the common ancestor lived in the sea, due to their shared muscle-based-hemoglobin-like cells and their characteristics.

[@hhjhj393]

They look so regal yet so derpy, I LOVE them.

[@brokentablespodcast]

The aliens lost a few pets during a visit 😂

[@richdobbs6595]

Call me dubious that the common ancestor was aquatic. Seems more likely that the particular deviation noted was just a spandrel.

[@sekaiomiruhitokaminoyume5426]

The way the nose goes down is different from the curvature rodent got , so I knew it was some elephant cousin

[@athenovae]

8:52 missed opportunity to call heaping hyddling. A huddle but now hyddle lol

[@asmongoldsmouth9839]

*What this little guy actually is, is if you don't pull all of your potatoes out of your garden by Autumn, they hatch i to these creatures and eat the remaining vegetables that weren't picked.*

[@danielbachiu]

Can't believe that there's an animal with RAX in the name and Hank isn't the one talking about it

[@theanyktos]

I'd've loved some examples of other hard polytomies out there.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

Look at Geese...20 species or so, all got isolated from each other during the ice ages... became different species, that often can still crossbreed, an other example, Baboons, and of course Humanoids. Both also got split up because of the Sahara and the ice ages etc.. And rats come to mind..

[@KatherineUribe-1]

Rock hyrax, closest extant relative is the elephant. Fun fact: Patty, in the film Born Free, was a rock hyrax.

[@petrichor9417]

Interesting, I didn't know about the myoglobin... To me that would suggest sirenia are the outgroup to proboscidea and hyracoidea, but we ran the molecular data during my bachelor studies and those truly suggest all scenarios would be possible

[@pattheplanter]

I am imagining something like an beaver - mostly vegetarian, eating river weeds. Then some move out to sea grasses, some move out to river and lake shores and some go up mountains.

[@serahloeffelroberts9901]

Many people don't know that elephants are excellent swimmers and can swim for miles if they have to, using the trunk as a snorkel.

[@ChinchillaBONK]

Scientific term : Heaping. Me : aaawwww... They love to cuddle

[@Darth-Lesbian]

8:17 I feel like he’s about to take me out 😭

[@cnmnnaturalist]

I knew someone who snagged some neat skeletal replicas at an estate sale and there was a skull labeled 'groundhog or nutria'. I saw it in their photos posted and said "OMG that isn't a rodent! It's a Hyrax!" They were thrilled! If you know animal anatomy and see a Hyrax skull, you immediately can tell it is definitely not a rodent and VERY unique!

[@maxking95]

I just watched a video about this family from Clint's Reptiles! fascinating stuff

[@Lucarius1]

without even watching this episode I knew it's a "Klippschliefer" and it's related to one of the biggest land animals with giant ears and a trunk. I learned in this video (amongst other things) that it's English name is Hyrax... 😉

[@Dany-rx7rs]

Here in South Africa

[@magnoliaweathershield443]

Dassie!

[@ninomcterenceyaco7344]

No Bob! There's no way pee is more useful than me!

[@Dragnfly_mynamewastaken]

Are rich people eating their pee yet? We've gotta get rich people to eat that pee cuz that's absolutely something people would pay a fortune for

[@Werevampiwolf]

No but it's used in perfumes sometimes.

[@toweypat]

"They may look cute, but they sound horrible." I have to say, that sounds cute to me!

[@MrDannySteele]

It is a rock Hyrax and it’s closest relative is the elephant

[@FlinnGaidin]

Had to stop the car the other day and honk the horn at a bunch of hyraxes lollygagging on the road.

[@idjles]

More bonus hyrax facts: * The country Spain is named after the hyrax as Phonecian explorers from the East Mediterranian discovered Spain, saw its rabbits and named it after the hyrax (sh-p--n) they knew from the East. * The Bible says that the hyrax is a cud-chewer. * They have eyes on top of their heads to scan the sky for flying predators while they are sunning on rocks.

[@brighamgalbraith9001]

Those baby hyraxes at 4:07 are so cute! It makes sense, given that adult hyraxes are cute, too.

[@TiggerIsMyCat]

Who could ever call that "truly horrible"???

[@lalakuma9]

Convergent evolution still surprises me every single time

[@feralbluee]

btw, you are a terrific lecturer/teacher. i never know what to call you guys. :) you really grab one’s attention and your info is very organized and highly interesting!l want more :) 🌷🌱

[@ParanoidCarrot]

my life would be bettter if i lived in a small watchtower on a cliff edge with a family of hyarxes

[@TiggerIsMyCat]

This is the cutest pin you've ever made. Hands down.

[@TheChumm]

Wonderful ep! So many weird facts and additional education, so much good footage, editing and animations. Tremendous work on this one.

[@grimble4564]

I love the mental image of some Victorian age scientist seeing a hyrax for the first time and just being like "What the f*ck is this"

[@ScoutSniper3124]

Elephants and Sea Cows... mind Officially BLOWN!

[@hamsterama]

Actually, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise! Manatee flippers have nails that look like elephant nails.

[@Caskit_KAT]

Did anyone notice how the rocky hyrax at 7:41 his right eye unfocused... its absolutely silly.

[@Vapormoon]

I love seeing entire families chilling on the rocks, they truly look like someone dropped a bag of potatoes on the rocks lol

[@FossilApostle]

This is my hypothesis: Mammals are the vertbrate version of carcinization. Instead of CRAB, mammals become smol fuzzy mice or big hairless semi aquatic quadruped. Everything else is just in a transitionary period

[@nicstroud]

3:56 That face, just staring at you. Priceless.

[@bevinboulder5039]

You just _had_ to include that picture of a capybara didn't you. They are the cutest animals of that size.

[@Dankflamio]

The definition of “my dad could definitely beat up your dad” to the other rodents

[@Snarethedrummer]

2:54 I was EATING 😨

[@PasleyAviationPhotography]

I was drinking hyrax urine, ironic

[@katej2284]

Dassies are amazing, we looked after one at a sanctuary who was quite literally a sassy Dassie. She ruled the whole place 😄 her fave things included chewing bra straps and mimicking warthog noises so she could steal food from the hoglets. She would demand attention and affection and was such a character. The other rescued dassies were just completely normal though and mostly uninterested in humans 😄

[@emordnilap4747]

Wait, hold up.... so they have trouble regulating their body temperature (like they're less warm blooded), have suction cup feet, and thick urine? Never knew a mammal could have so much in common with a gecko.

[@alizaidanthamyeez740]

I have watched more than enough Casual Geographic to know what animal is in this video and its closest relative.