430 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



the first author who mentions it, calls it a Marmot, which 

 was adopted by Vosmaer and Buffon. Blumenbach, in his 

 Manuel, left it with the Rodentia, as did also Pallas, 

 though he adverts to the differences of its internal cha- 

 racter from the rest of that order. Herman was the first 

 to separate it generically under the name Hyrax £Ypiz%, 

 Mouse of the Etolians,) a far-fetched etymology, which was 

 adopted by Schreber and Gmelin, though they kept the new 

 genus in the order Rodentia. 



It is obvious, therefore, that the Daman is one of those 

 animals which is intermediate between two or more genera, 

 the very plague of naturalists, though they merit from their 

 singularity particular attention, with reference both to the 

 animals themselves and the class in general. Inde- 

 pendently of disparity in size from others of the present 

 order, it differs from them in the nails, which, instead of 

 covering the bottom of the toes, scarcely cover the whole 

 of their upper side ; its motions are plantigrade, while 

 other Pachydermata move on the toes, and have the carpus 

 and the tarsus adapted only to pronation : its fur is thick 

 and soft, and it has labial whiskers, in which particulars it 

 differs also from others of the order, as it does also from 

 most of them in great agility and activity. If, therefore, 

 its osteological characters are to prevail in its classifica- 

 tion, other dissimilarities must be endured. 



The result of a comparison of this singular animal with 

 others, to which it is more or less assimilated, must suf- 

 fice here in the stead of a detailed account ; for a note of 

 the particulars of its generic characters, we must refer to 

 the text and table, and proceed to a notice of the species. 



The South African, or Cape Hyrax, is the best known. 

 It is not much larger than a hare; tha make is clumsy, 

 rather long, low on the legs, with a short neck, and a 

 thick head terminated by an obtuse muzzle ; the fur is 

 uniformly grayish-brown, with the inside of the ears 



