Definition of "hyrax" [‖Hy•rax]

• Any of several herbivorous mammals of the family Procaviidae within the order Hyraoidea of Africa and adjacent Asia, resembling woodchucks or similar rodents but more closely related to the hoofed mammals. Also called coney1, dassie. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "CORWIN: And actually, the hyrax, which is so amazing, is a relative of elephants."
• "JEDDAH: There is a little known furry critter known as the hyrax that scurries about on rocks in Saudi Arabia."
• "They are said to proceed from a kind of hyrax (?) about the size of a rabbit; the Krumen call it a 'bush-dog', and, as will appear, Cameron holds it to be a lemur."