Dendrohyrax Gray 1868

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Hyracoidea, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 87-89 : 87

Dendrohyrax Gray 1868

Dendrohyrax Gray 1868 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 4, 1: 48.

Type Species: Hyrax arboreus A. Smith 1827

Species and subspecies: 2 species with 6 subspecies:

Species Dendrohyrax arboreus (A. Smith 1827)

Species Dendrohyrax dorsalis (Fraser 1854)

Subspecies Dendrohyrax dorsalis subsp. dorsalis Fraser 1854

Subspecies Dendrohyrax dorsalis subsp. emini Thomas 1887

Subspecies Dendrohyrax dorsalis subsp. latrator Thomas 1910

Subspecies Dendrohyrax dorsalis subsp. marmota Thomas 1901

Subspecies Dendrohyrax dorsalis subsp. nigricans Peters 1879

Subspecies Dendrohyrax dorsalis subsp. sylvestris (Temminek 1853)

Discussion: A key to species was provided by Jones (1978). Schlitter (1993) followed previous workers in recognizing three species of Tree Hyraxes. The validity of D. validus as a species distinct from D. arboreus was questioned by Bothma (1971, see comments in Schlitter, 1993:373). I briefly examined skeletal and skin specimens of D. arboreus , D. dorsalis , and D. validus at the National Museum of Natural History (Washington D.C.) and at the American Museum of Natural History (New York). Until a detailed study is conducted to evaluate the validity of Dendrohyrax species, I believe that D. arboreus and D. dorsalis may be valid separate species, but D. validus is not.