17 



celebrated Cuvier first pointed out the singular 

 position of this little animal, which was formerly 

 believed to be rodent (allied to the rabbit), but 

 which is now known to possess for its nearest 

 relatives the Tapir, Hippopotamus, and Rhinoceros. 

 Professor Marsh, of Yale College, has recently 

 discovered in the Rocky Mountains, fossil remains 

 of paclrydermatous animals, of great size, closely 

 allied to the Klipdas, or Shaphan. The Klipdas 

 is not much larger than a rabbit, and (unfortu- 

 nately for itself) is considered a great delicacy 

 when properly cooked. It lives in caves of moun- 

 tainous districts, such as Table Mount, at the 

 Cape of Good Hope, or the hill country of Judea. 

 It is also found in Abyssinia among rocky caves, 

 and is there called Ashkoko, from the long hedge- 

 hog like hairs that grow along its back, which in 

 Amhara are called " ashkok." Tts modern name 

 in Palestine and Arabia is " gamu Israel," or sheep 

 of Israel. The Hebrew name of this remarkable 

 little animal, Shaphan, signifies the " hider," and 

 implies cunning. The Shaphan is mentioned four 

 times in Holy Scripture, and is called in the 

 authorised version Coney (rabbit). The Septua- 

 gint translators in all four places used the word 

 " chcerogryllus," which implies a sort of grunting 

 pig, and shows that they had a dim notion of its 

 zoological peculiarities. St. Jerome also states 

 that the Shaphan is somewhat larger than a 

 hedgehog, and that it resembled both a mouse 

 and a bear (probably from its feet, which have 

 four round soft toes on the front, and three toes 



