50 MR. O. THOMAS ON THE [Jail. 5, 



5. On the Species of the Hyracoidea, 

 By Oldfield Thomas, F.Z.S. 



[Eeceived December 1, 1891.] 



(Plate III.) 



The present paper is an attempt to work out the species con- 

 tained in the group Hyracoidea, a group which has of late years 

 attracted the attention of several prominent systematic workers, but 

 which, owing partly to its inherent difficulties and partly to want of 

 material, has remained in a terrible state of chaos. The difficulties 

 of the subject are indeed so great, owing mainly to the slight differ- 

 ences and great variability of the species, that in spite of my 

 material being many-fold greater than that available for any of my 

 predecessors, I can only feel that my results are quite provisional, 

 and will need further revision when larger and better series from 

 more localities are obtained. 



The material before me consists of about 120 skins and spirit 

 specimens, and 122 skulls and skeletons, a number far in excess of 

 what any previous worker has had. This number is made up, 

 firstly, of the Museum series (71 skins &c., 67 skulls), which contains 

 the types of the species described by Gray ^ in his many papers on 

 the subject, and the large series of Abyssinian specimens collected 

 by Mr. W. T. Blanford and used as the basis of his work on the 

 group. 



Secondly, the fine series (47 skins &c., 48 skulls) belonging 

 to the Genoa Museum, containing large numbers of the Abyssinian 

 and Shoan forms and also the only good specimens that I have 

 seen of the Senegal Hyrax (Procavia latastei). This collection 

 formed the basis of M. Lataste's work on the group'' — work only 

 just begun, and of which only a few preliminary remarks had been 

 published, but work nevertheless of the highest and most thoughtful 

 character, so that it has been a great misfortune in this respect 

 that M. Lataste has had to throw up the Hyracoidea on quitting 

 Europe for S. America. All his drawings and notes, however, have 

 been transmitted to me by the Marquis G. Doria, to whom I also 

 owe the loan of the collection itself, and to whom therefore my 

 most sincere thanks are due. 



Thirdly, four skulls of the Angolan species, including the type 

 skulls of both P. welwitschii and P. grayi, kindly lent me by Prof. 

 Barboza du Socage of the Lisbon Museum, these being the skulls 

 described and figured by him in his excellent paper on the genus 

 pubhshed in 1889. 



Fourthly, two skulls of P. syriaca lent me by Dr. P. Matschie of 

 the Berlin Museum, with the permission of Prof. Mobius. I am 

 also indebted to the former for much assistance in reference to the 



' Except that of P. welwitschii. 



" Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) iv. p. 6 (1886). 



