292 nYRACIDJE. 



The skull of Dcndrohyrax dorsalis may be known from those of 

 Hymx and EuJii/rax, in the youngest state, by the large size of the 

 half-oblong interparietal bone, which is nearly twice as wide as 

 long. In the nearly adult skull it occupies the whole space of the 

 hinder part of the crown. The skull of this genus is also peculiar 

 for the upper part of the occipital bone being produced and ex- 

 panded, and forming the hinder part of the crown, the hinder edge 

 of the flattened part being keeled and sharply produced in the 

 centre. 



There is the skull, with only a few teeth, of a very young animal 

 iu the British Museum (No. 724/) that agrees with the skull just 

 described iu having the upper part of the occipital bone broad and 

 forming part of the crown, and in having complete orbits. It also 

 has a very large, broad, transverse interparietal bone, nearly as wide 

 as the convex crown of the skull ; but this is four-sided, and twice 

 as wide as high, as if formed of two squares united in the middle ; 

 the outer sides of the bone are rather angular in the middle. I 

 suspect this is the young animal of D. dorsalis. 



a. Orbit complete. Dendrohyrax. — Grai/, I. c. p. 49. 



1. Dendrohyrax dorsalis. B.M. 



Fur rigid, bristly, blackish ; dorsal spot e'longate, pure white. 

 Young — fur soft, silky, reddish brown ; back with a broad dorsal 

 streak, 



Hyrax dorsalis, Fraser, Proc. Zool. Soe. 1852, p. 99 ; Verreaux, Cat. 

 Hyrax abj'ssinicus, Read, MS. Mus. Zool. Soc. ; Gerrard, Cat. Bones 



B. M. p. 284 (no. 72oa). 

 Hyrax arboreus, Blainv. Osteugr. t. 2 (skull and teeth; not .4. Smith) ; 



Gerrard, Cat. Bones B. M. p. 284. 

 Dendrohyrax dorsalis, Gray, Ann. ^ Mac/. N. H. ser. 4. i. p. 49. 



Hah. West Africa ( Verreaiuv) ; Fernando Po (Fraser) ; Ashantee 

 (Bead). 



There are two adult skulls of this species in the British Museum 

 ■ — one obtained from Fernando Po, and the other received from Mr. 

 James Read, who obtained it from the cap of an Ashantee negro. In 

 both the forehead is flat, rather concave between the orbits, and the 

 orbits have a complete bony ring ; they both agree exactly with the 

 figure of the skull of //. arboreus in De Blainville's ' Osteographie,' 

 and with the skull without a lower jaw in the British Museum. 



There are the skeleton and skull of a young specimen in the 

 British Museum, purchased from Mr. Jamrach ; and this skuU 

 agrees with the two adult ones in the concavity of the forehead 

 over the orbits and the complete bony rings to the orbits. 



2. Dendrohyrax arboreus. (The Boomdas.) B.M, 



" Fur reddish fulvous, varied with black ; sides reddish white 

 mixed with black ; underside and inner sides of limbs whitish ; 



