hyrax

 
Pronunciation: /ˈhʌɪraks/

noun

  • a small herbivorous mammal with a compact body and a very short tail, found in arid country in Africa and Arabia. The nearest relatives to hyraxes are the elephants and other subungulates.
    • Family Procaviidae and order Hyracoidea: three genera and several species

Origin:

mid 19th century: modern Latin, from Greek hurax 'shrew-mouse'