ORDER PACHYDERMATA. 431 



white, and a blackish band is sometimes found on the 

 back. It inhabits the clefts of rocks, and is frequently 

 devoured by animals of prey. Such as have been brought 

 to Europe have been easily tamed, and have become much 

 attached to their keeper ; they were active and cleanly, and 

 fed exclusively on vegetable substances. 



The Hyrax found in Abyssinia, which Bruce treats as 

 distinct from the South African species, is considered by 

 the Baron Cuvier as specifically the same. Although, how- 

 ever, the Baron has had the examination of five perfect 

 skeletons, and of ten heads, of these animals, it does not 

 appear in his Fossil Osteology that he had perfect speci- 

 mens of both, which he could compare with each other ; and 

 the points of difference, if any, would be principally in the 

 number of the front toes, which are said to be three in the 

 Syrian Hyrax or Ashkokoo of Bruce, and four in the other. 



There is a specimen of the Syrian Hyrax, in the Museum 

 at Frankfort, which we have engraved, from a drawing by 

 Major Smith, which drawing distinguishes only three an- 

 terior toes. 



To verify this drawing and Bruce's description, we have 

 inspected a specimen of the Syrian Hyrax lately deposited 

 in the British Museum, which specimen has clearly only 

 three toes on the anterior feet, without any exterior tu- 

 bercle or representative of a third: the acuminated nail 

 on the first posterior toe is not so sharp as that represented 

 in the drawing, and the colour is more like that of a rabbit 

 than the specimen of the South African species in the same 

 establishment, which is uniform in colour and much darker 

 than the other. 



We are indebted to M. D'Azara for a good account of 

 the American Tapir, called Anta by the Brazilian Portuguese, 

 which account we shall in substance subjoin, referring to 

 the text and table for the generic characters. 



2 G 2 



