The hyraxes are four species of furry, cat-sized, thickset, herbivorous mammals that might resemble rodents at first glance, but have hooves and two caniniform incisors among other features that betray their distant evolutionary relation to
elephants. They are native to Africa and the
Middle East.
Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two
incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the
capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (99 lb).
The lagomorphs comprise two families,
Leporidae (
hares and
rabbits), and Ochotonidae (
pikas). Though they can resemble
rodents, and were classified as a
superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.
The order Erinaceomorpha contains a single family, Erinaceidae, which comprise the
hedgehogs and
gymnures. The hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines while gymnures look more like large rats.
The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.
The order Cetacea includes
whales,
dolphins and
porpoises. They are the mammals most fully
adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.
Species listed below also includes species being recorded in
Levantine Sea.
The even-toed ungulates are
ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in
perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.
^The taxonomy and naming of the individual species is based on those used in existing Wikipedia articles as of 9 January 2013 and supplemented by the common names and taxonomy from the IUCN where no Wikipedia article was available.