86 MOUNTAIN FAUNAS 
The very aberrant and somewhat primitive ungulates 
called hyraces (Procavia) show some interesting features 
as regards adaptation to mountain life. All are small 
animals, very like rodents in appearance and habits, 
and resembling most of those animals also in their 
helplessness and want of swiftness. When small herbi- 
vores cannot defend themselves actively, cannot escape 
by flight, and cannot burrow, only two possible means 
of escaping their enemies remain. These are to haunt 
rocky country where the fallen stones and blocks offer 
natural shelter, or to seek the trees. Both methods are 
adopted by the hyraces. The common hyrax of Syria 
gets its name of rock coney from its habit of frequent- 
ing rocks, where it pops in and out of the crevices as 
a rabbit pops in and out of its burrow. As rocky 
country is more frequent in mountainous regions than 
elsewhere, we find that the ground hyraces usually 
occur in elevated districts, though frequenting suitable 
ground elsewhere in addition. They have four well- 
developed toes on the fore foot, and three on the hind, 
and the size of the feet, with the spreading toes, enables 
them to scramble about rocks very easily. The tree 
hyraces, without any notable difference in structure, 
show a marked difference in habit in that they live 
entirely among trees, in which they feed, breed, and 
sleep. Being relatively hardy they occur at great 
elevations, e. g. at from 7,000 to 11,000 feet in the forests 
of Kilimanjaro. In both the ground and tree forms, 
those attaining a great elevation seem to differ chiefly 
in their thicker coats. All the hyraces are confined to 
Africa and the adjacent regions, e.g. Syria and Arabia. 
Among the true rodents we find, as already indicated, 
many mountain species. In the consideration of steppe 
faunas something was said of marmots (Arctomys), 
