198 THE CAPE HYRAX. 



" This species rather exceeds the size of the 

 Hyrax capensis, usually measuring about twenty- 

 one inches from the tip of the nose to the extre- 

 mity of the back, and about seven inches in 

 height. In its general form, it resembles the 

 species just named ; and in the manner of moving 

 and sitting they exactly coincide. The colour 

 above is a sort of tawny red, freely mottled and 

 variegated with black ; on the lower parts of the 

 sides, it is reddish white, with a less abundant 

 intermixture of black; and beneath, as well as on 

 the insides of the legs, it is an uniform dull white. 

 The reddish colour arises from the tips of most 

 of the hairs being of that hue ; and the black 

 variegations depend partly on a scanty intermix- 

 ture of long hairs, which are entirely of that 

 colour, but principally upon an exposure of the 

 deeper parts of the general covering, which are 

 throughout inclined to black ; and in consequence 

 of this last being the chief source whence 

 the mottled appearances are derived, that neces- 

 sarily is more or less considerable according to 

 the position of the hair, &c. The crown of the 

 head has a predominance of black ; the sides and 

 middle of the face anterior to the eyes, are 

 covered by a sort of short, dull, dusky, or reddish- 

 white hair ; and a whitish streak extends back- 

 wards from thence over each eye. The sides of 

 the head a mixture of grayish-white and black, 



