no8 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



cheek-teeth are seven in number on each side of both the upper and lower jaws, and 

 in structure approximate to those of either the rhinoceros or the palseothere, there 

 being some amount of variation in the form and height of the crowns of these teeth 

 in the different species. 



Like other Ungulates, hyraces have no collar bones (clavicles) , and the tail is 

 reduced to a mere stump. In the fore-foot there are four functional toes, of which 

 the outermost is smaller than the others; the first digit being represented by a mere 

 rudiment. The hind-foot has only three toes, of which the innermost is furnished 

 with a long, curved claw, while the other two, like all those in the fore-foot, carry 

 broad and short nails, somewhat like those of a rhinoceros. All the bones of the 

 limbs are fully developed and separate from one another; and the 

 thigh bone, or femur, lacks the distinct third trochanter charac- 

 terizing the Odd-Toed Ungulates. In many species the socket of 

 the eye is completely surrounded by bone, but in others it is 

 partially open behind. 



The hyraces have sharply-pointed muzzles and small, rounded 

 ears, and their bodies are covered with a thick coat of nearly 

 uniformly -colored hair, which varies in length in the different 

 species. Near the middle of the back there is a gland, surrounded 

 THE BONES OF and tl COV e r ed by a patch of hair, differing in color from 



THE UPPER 



PART OP THE those on the rest of the body. Frequently, the central part of this 



FORE- gland is naked, in one species for a length of fully two inches, 

 FOOT OF THE but it is generally concealed by the convergence of the surround- 



T (F?oti oltetf ) in S hair - In most s P ecies the female has three pairs of mam- 



mae, one of which is placed near the fore-limbs, while the other two 



are situated posteriorly; but in three species of tree hyrax there is but a single pair. 



The various species of hyrax, about fourteen in number, are con- 



Distribution fined to Africaj Arabia, and Syria. In Africa they are found in the 



extreme south at the Cape, and thence range along the East and West Coasts 



about as far north as the twentieth parallel of north latitude; while they also occur 



in the central equatorial regions. They are usually found in rocky districts, at ele- 



vations varying from near the sea level to upward of eleven thousand feet. 



The whole of the species of hyrax are now included by Mr. O. 



y H Thomas in the single genus Procavia, and, as it will be unnecessary 



to notice all of them, we shall confine our remarks to some of the best 



known. Of these the Abyssinian hyrax (P. abyssinica] agrees with the majority in 



the light color of the patch of hair surrounding the gland on the back. It is of 



medium size, the total length along the curves of a female specimen measured by 



Mr. Blanford being twenty inches, and the height at the shoulder eight inches. Its 



fur is coarse and harsh, and in specimens from high elevations somewhat elongated, 



but short in those from the lowlands. The light spot round the gland is very small 



and inconspicuous. 



. Mr. Blanford says that ' ' these hyraces live in rocky or stony places, 



in communities, like rabbits, haunting holes beneath the rocks. 



A large pile of loose rocks, especially if there are precipices around, is sure to be 



