1892.] SPECIES OF THE HYRACOIDEA. 71 



SkulP as described in the so-called subgenus ^^ Heterohyrax "^, 

 of which this is the typical species. Interparietal early united to 

 the parietals, and the latter to each other ; the coronal suture seldom 

 visible in adult animals. Temporal fossse only extending backwards 

 to within about 8 or 10 millimetres of the lambdoid crest. Diastema 

 long, generally about 10 or 12 mm. in adult specimens. 



Molars very small and light ; m^ rarely or never exceeding G mm. 

 in breadth ; generally from about 5"6 to 5"9 ; rather less in the 

 Somali subspecies. Height of crown of ^]^ 4'5 mm. ; pi small but 

 double-rooted, its horizontal length 2*8 to 3"4 mm. 



Ribs 21 (in the type of var. somalica). 



Subspecific diagnoses : — 



A. P. hrucei typica. 



Synonymy as above. 



Size comparatively large, basal length about 80 mm. 



Hab. Abyssinia [Senafe and Adigrat, Tigre {Blanford) ; Shoa 

 {Antinoriy]. Central Africa [Latiko, near Wadelai (Baker); 

 Usambiro, Victoria Nyanza ^ (Emin)]; Thita (^TFr ay). Mozambique 

 {Peters). 



Ji. P. brucei somalica, subsp. n. 



Size markedly smaller than in the typical form, the skull of an 

 old female having a basal length of only 74 mm. ; colour rather 

 paler. 



Hab. Somali-land. 



Two specimens, male and female, sent in spirit by E. Lort Phillips, 

 Esq., from Berbera (the female the type of the subspecies) ; and a 

 skin (2) from Gerbatir, N. Somali-land, by J. Menges. 



This species has been peculiarly unfortunate in the large number 

 of names that have been applied to it, and still more in the frequency 

 with which its proper name has been applied to other species. The 

 chief cause of the confusion has been the fact that the skull of the 

 type has never been extracted until now, and that on this account 

 the common large-toothed N. Abyssinian species (P. abyssinica) was, 

 without much close examination, dubbed with its name. 



On extracting, however, the skull of the specimen in the Museum 

 collected by Dr. Riippell, and specially mentioned as the type by 

 Gray, it is found to belong without question to the small-toothed 

 species, which must therefore bear the name of P. brucei. To this 

 species also belongs the " aberrant specimen of H. brucei" (No. 

 786) referred to by Blanford (Zool. Abyss, p. 254, 1870), aberrant 

 really only in so far as it difPers from the large-toothed form, to 

 which, naturally following the founder of the name, he wrongly 

 applied the designation P. brucei. The fact of the skull of this 



^ Figures : Gray, Pland-l. Edentata, &c. pi. xi. fig. 3 (187o). 

 ^ See Gray and Lataste, 11. cc. 



^ This specimen was marked by Dr. Emin : — "Iride fusco-umbrina. — Native 

 name ' Peinbe ' ". 



