The Zoochat Photographic Guide to the Afrotheria

[TeaLovingDave]

At first glance, this thread will comprise something of a taxonomic grab-bag, covering as it does species and families which have been scattered throughout the placental family tree at various points in time, from the tenrecs and sengis which were once assigned to the "Insectivora" wastebasket family, oddities such as the aardvark once grouped with xenarthrans and pangolins, all the way to species such as elephants and sirenians which were once grouped with perissodactyls and hippopotamuses within the "Pachydermata".

However, it is now clear that the various species classified within the Afrotheria form a single monophyletic clade, comprising two distinct lineages; these will be the subject of the thread that follows.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

AFROTHERIA



This group is currently held to comprise two monophyletic lineages:

PAENUNGULATA - 3 extant orders

AFROINSECTIPHILIA - 3 extant orders.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

PAENUNGULATA



This clade comprises three extant orders and a total of four extant families, as follows:


HYRACOIDEA

PROCAVIIDAE - Hyraxes (3 genera, 5 species)


PROBOSCIDEA

ELEPHANTIDAE - Elephants (2 genera, 3 species)


SIRENIA

DUGONGIDAE - Dugongs (1 genus, 1 species)
TRICHETIDAE - Manatees (1 genus, 3 species)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

PROCAVIIDAE


This family comprises three extant genera:

Procavia - Rock Hyrax (1 species)

Heterohyrax - Bush Hyrax (1 species)

Dendrohyrax - Tree Hyraxes (3 species)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Procavia


Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis)

The range of this species extends throughout the semi-arid regions of Africa, the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula in a number of disjunct populations roughly discernable as follows: a population in southern Africa running along the Atlantic coastline from southern Namibia south to the Cape, and north from here to west-central Mozambique; a population across northern sub-Saharan Africa from Mauritania and Senegal in the west, throughout central Africa to Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia in the east, and north from here into Egypt, the Levant and the Red Sea coastline of the Arabian Peninsula; and scattered disjunct populations in Saudi Arabia and the Sahara Desert.

The taxonomy of this species is under some debate; 17 subspecies have historically been recognised, but in latter years several of these have been proposed to represent distinct species. Furthermore, suggestions have also been made that none of these subspecies are valid and that the species should be deemed monotypic.

For the purposes of this thread, I shall list the historically-recognised subspecies in order to ensure my coverage is as comprehensive as possible:

P. c. capensis - photo by @Maguari

P. c. bamendae
P. c. capillosa - photo by @Maguari

P. c. erlangeri
P. c. habessinicus
P. c. jacksoni
P. c. jayakari - photo by @TeaLovingDave

P. c. johnstoni - photo by @Hix

P. c. kerstingi
P. c. mackinderi
P. c. matschiei
P. c. pallida
P. c. ruficeps
P. c. scioanus
P. c. sharica
P. c. syriacus - photo by @ro6ca66

P. c. welwitschii

 

[Maguari]

I was a bit cagy with the ID at the time but having done more reading since this is P. c. capillosa: Rock Hyrax in Bale Mountains NP, 16/10/14 | ZooChat

The subspecies is endemic to the Bale Mountains and is one of the more morphologically distinct forms (mainly in dental characters!). One author commented that had it been discovered by a palaeontologist it would probably have had a new genus created for it!

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I was a bit cagy with the ID at the time but having done more reading since this is P. c. capillosa: Rock Hyrax in Bale Mountains NP, 16/10/14 | ZooChat

The subspecies is endemic to the Bale Mountains and is one of the more morphologically distinct forms (mainly in dental characters!). One author commented that had it been discovered by a palaeontologist it would probably have had a new genus created for it!

Cheers will add that now.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Heterohyrax


Bush Hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei)

The range of this species extends throughout eastern Africa, from Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia south as far as the northern reaches of South Africa; a disjunct population exists in western Angola.

25 subspecies are currently recognised, although several may well be invalid and it has been suggested that some may merit full species status:

H. b. albipes
H. b. antineae
H. b. bakeri
H. b. bocagei
H. b. brucei - photo by @Maguari

H. b. chapini
H. b. dieseneri
H. b. frommi
H. b. granti
H. b. hindei
H. b. hoogstraali
H. b. kempi
H. b. lademanni
H. b. manningi
H. b. mossambicus
H. b. muenzneri
H. b. princeps
H. b. prittwitzi - photo by @ro6ca66

H. b. pumilus
H. b. ruddi
H. b. rudolfi
H. b. somalicus
H. b. ssongeae
H. b. thomasi
H. b. victorianjansae - photo by @LaughingDove

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Dendrohyrax


Western Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis)

The range of this species extends throughout West and Central Africa, from Sierra Leone to northern Uganda and southwards to northern Angola and northeastern DRC.

Six subspecies are recognised:

D. d. dorsalis
D. d. emini
D. d. latrator
D. d. marmota
D. d. nigricans
D. d. sylvestris - photo by @Giant Eland

Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout the forested regions of Central and East Africa, from central Kenya south through Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, as far south as Zambia and central Mozambique; disjunct populations exist in southern Mozambique and the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa.

Five subspecies are recognised:

D. a. arboreus
D. a. stuhlmanni - photo by @Ornithorhynchus

D. a. crawshayi
D. a. ruwenzorii
D. a. aldofi-friederici


Eastern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus)

The range of this species is restricted to patchy distribution in upland and forested regions of Tanzania and coastal south Kenya.

Two subspecies recognised:

D. v. validus
D. v. neumanni

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

ELEPHANTIDAE


This family comprises two extant genera:

Loxodonta - African Elephants (2 species)

Elephas - Asian Elephant (1 species)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Loxodonta


Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

The range of this species extends widely but in a highly-fragmented fashion throughout sub-Saharan Africa, outside the Congo Basin and other rainforest regions of Central Africa.

The taxonomic validity of any subspecies assigned to this taxon is unclear at present; issues are complicated by the potential for hybridisation between Bush and Forest Elephant in those areas where the ranges of each coincide. Four subspecies have been proposed:

L. a. africana - photo by @GerbenElzinga

L. a. knochenhaueri - photo by @LaughingDove

L. a. orleansi
L. a. oxyotis


Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)

The range of this species is restricted to the Congo Basin and surrounding rainforest habitat.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Parrotsandrew

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Elephas


Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

The range of this species formerly extended from the Middle East through Iran and Afghanistan into the Indian subcontinent, eastwards into Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia, and into China at least as far as the Yangtze-Kiang; this range has significantly retracted and now represents a patchy and fragmented distribution from southern India, Sri Lanka and the foothills of the Himalayas east into Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia and the extreme south of China.

Five extant subspecies have been proposed, although it has been suggested that all but two or three may be invalid.

E. m. indicus - photo by @Chlidonias

E. m. maximus - photo by @ralph

E. m. sumatranus - photo by @TeaLovingDave

E. m. hirsutus - photo by @Glutton

E. m. sondaicus - photo by @Deer Forest

 

[lintworm]

I was a bit cagy with the ID at the time but having done more reading since this is P. c. capillosa: Rock Hyrax in Bale Mountains NP, 16/10/14 | ZooChat

The subspecies is endemic to the Bale Mountains and is one of the more morphologically distinct forms (mainly in dental characters!). One author commented that had it been discovered by a palaeontologist it would probably have had a new genus created for it!

In any case it looks extremely similar to the Rock hyrax of the Eastern Ethiopian highlands and Kingdon tends to lump them all under the name Abyssinian rock hyrax.

Dendrohyrax


Western Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis)

The range of this species extends throughout West and Central Africa, from Sierra Leone to northern Uganda and southwards to northern Angola and northeastern DRC.

Six subspecies are recognised:

D. d. dorsalis
D. d. emini
D. d. latrator
D. d. marmota
D. d. nigricans
D. d. sylvestris - photo by @Giant Eland

Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout the forested regions of Central and East Africa, from central Kenya south through Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, as far south as Zambia and central Mozambique; disjunct populations exist in southern Mozambique and the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa.

Five subspecies are recognised:

D. a. arboreus
D. a. stuhlmanni - photo by @Ornithorhynchus

D. a. crawshayi
D. a. ruwenzorii
D. a. aldofi-friederici


Eastern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus)

The range of this species is restricted to patchy distribution in upland and forested regions of Tanzania and coastal south Kenya.

Two subspecies recognised:

D. v. validus - photo by @Hix

D. v. neumanni

Additionally there is an undescribed population of tree hyrax in the forest of SW Ethiopia in the Kaffa region, which based on the few pictures available might be Eastern tree hyrax, but vocalizations would be necessary to place this population.

 

[lintworm]

Dendrohyrax


Western Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis)

The range of this species extends throughout West and Central Africa, from Sierra Leone to northern Uganda and southwards to northern Angola and northeastern DRC.

Six subspecies are recognised:

D. d. dorsalis
D. d. emini
D. d. latrator
D. d. marmota
D. d. nigricans
D. d. sylvestris - photo by @Giant Eland

Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout the forested regions of Central and East Africa, from central Kenya south through Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, as far south as Zambia and central Mozambique; disjunct populations exist in southern Mozambique and the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa.

Five subspecies are recognised:

D. a. arboreus
D. a. stuhlmanni - photo by @Ornithorhynchus

D. a. crawshayi
D. a. ruwenzorii
D. a. aldofi-friederici


Eastern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus)

The range of this species is restricted to patchy distribution in upland and forested regions of Tanzania and coastal south Kenya.

Two subspecies recognised:

D. v. validus - photo by @Hix

D. v. neumanni

The picture by Hix shows a Southern tree hyrax, there are no Eastern tree hyrax in Tarangire NP.

 

[KevinVar]

Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana)
L. a. oxyotis

To add a bit of discussion to this thread, there is some controversy and discussion about this matter whether the elephants in Ghana may or may not belong to this (former?) ''subspecies'', with even different views on the population in the northern Mole National Park and the southern Kakum National Park. Though the ones in Mole, as pictured here, are definitely most similar to African bush elephants, the ones in Kakum are often regarded as Forest elephants. Sadly I don't have any personal photographs of the latter species as they're very hard to track down in Kakum.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

The picture by Hix shows a Southern tree hyrax, there are no Eastern tree hyrax in Tarangire NP.

Fair enough - I was going by the fact that the two species are sympatric, and the captive population of Southern (which comes from that area I believe) looks completely different to the wild individual photographed.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

DUGONGIDAE


This family comprises a single genus:

Dugong - Dugong (1 species)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Dugong


Dugong (Dugong dugon)

The range of this species extends throughout warm coastal waters from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean coastline of Africa to the western coastline of the Pacific Ocean, in patchy and fragmented populations.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Hix

 

[TeaLovingDave]

TRICHECHIDAE


This family comprises a single genus:

Trichechus - Manatees (3 species)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Trichechus


Amazonian Manatee (Trichechus inunguis)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout most of the Amazon River Basin from the headwaters in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to the mouth of the Amazon.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Giant Eland

West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus)

The range of this species extends throughout the Caribbean, north to the southeast Atlantic coastline of the United States as far as Virginia, and south to the northwest Atlantic coastline of South America as far as Aracaju in Brazil.

Two subspecies recognised:

T. m. manatus - photo by @gulogulogulo

T. m. latirostris - photo by @jayjds2

West African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis)

The range of this species extends throughout coastal West Africa from the Senegal-Mauritania border to northern Angola, and into most major rivers across this range.

Monotypic.

Photo by @alexkant