36 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Species of Hyrax. 
not applicable to the African animal to which Bruce gave the 
name of Ashkoko (“coloured like a wild rabbit, and white 
beneath’), and which has a yellow dorsal’ streak. Capt. 
Harris, who collected animals in Abyssinia, sent home several 
specimens of a large blackish Hyrax having a large black 
dorsal spot and grey beneath, which he says is called Ashkoko 
by the natives; but it can scarcely be the Ashkoko of Bruce, 
as it does not agree with either his description or figure: 
perhaps this name is generic. Hyraz is also called Geke in 
Abyssinia, according to Salt. 
‘Mr. Tristram informs us that the Hyrax in Palestine and 
Sinai is called Weber, and Thofun in Southern Arabia. Bruce 
evidently confounds these Hyraces together as one species. 
Several zoologists have doubted whether the Ashkoko of 
Bruce was distinct from Hyrax capensis: no one can doubt the 
fact who compares the two. But the large blackish animal 
which is also found in Abyssinia, and called by the same 
name as Bruce applies to his species, is so like the H. capensis 
that it would be doubtful if it is a distinct species, if there 
were not such a difference in the skull. Hemprich and Ehren- 
berg regard it as distinct, and call it H. habessinicus. 
Hemprich and Ehrenberg, in the ‘Symbole Physicee,’ de- 
scribed and characterized by their colours and osteological 
characters four species of Hyrax, viz. :—1. H. capensis, 2. H. 
syrtacus vel sinaiticus, 3. H. habessinicus, 4. H. ruficeps vel 
dongolicus. ‘They figure three; for the dark animal figured 
with A. syriacus represents a young Hyrax habessinicus. 
There is no specimen in the British Museum that has a red 
head, although Prof. Ehrenberg called one of his species . 
ruficeps ; but I think that probably he gave that name to the 
species which we received from Dr. Riippell as H. abyssinicus, 
and which I believe to be the Ashkoko of Bruce. 
There are specimens of four distinct species in the British 
Museum that have a more or less distinct yellow dorsal streak ; 
and there is another, discovered by Dr.Welwitsch. Four came 
from Africa, and one from Arabia in Asia. They differ from 
each other in the texture and the general colour of the fur and 
of the hairs of which it is composed. Most probably two of 
these are the species with yellow dorsal spots, characterized by 
Hemprich and Ehrenberg, viz. Hyrax syriacus or sinatticus of 
Asia, and H. rujficeps vel dongolicus of Africa. 
Two of these species have rather harsh rigid hairs. 
Three specimens.of the first were sent from Upper Egypt 
by Mr. James Burton. They are larger in size and much 
paler in colour than the other species of the group, and 
very slightly punctulated with black. They have the dorsal 
