[ham-uh-drahy-uh
s] 
| a baboon, Papio (Comopithecus) hamadryas, of Ethiopia, the male of which has a mantle of long, dark hair about the head and shoulders: held sacred by the ancient Egyptians. |
| ham·a·dry·as (hām'ə-drī'əs) n. A baboon (Papio hamadryas) of northern Africa and Arabia, the adult male of which has a heavy mane. Also called sacred baboon. [Latin, hamadryad; see hamadryad.] |
| sacred baboon n. See hamadryas. [From the fact that the ancient Egyptians revered it as the god Anubis.] |
sacred baboon
large, powerful monkey of the plains and open-rock areas of the Red Sea coast, both in Africa (Eritrea, The Sudan) and on the opposite coast in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The hamadryas is the smallest baboon species, with a body length of about 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) and weight of up to 18 kg (40 pounds). Females are brown, but males are silvery gray with an enormous cape of hair on the neck and shoulders
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