HYRAXES 123 



differs by the stripes on the hind-quarters nearest the dorsal stripe running parallel 

 with the latter in the direction of the tail, as in the bonte-quagga, instead of at 

 right angles. Consequently, the gridiron-pattern of the true zebra, and the con- 

 centric stripe-arrangement of Gravy's zebra in this region are wanting. In general 

 build, as well as in the shape of the head and ears, Foa's zebra is nearer to the 

 bonte-quagga than to either of the other two. This is indicated by the fact that 

 the body-stripes meet the stripe traversing the middle line of the under surface. 

 The legs are striped to the fetlocks, and the pasterns black, as in the northern 

 bonte-quaggas. 



Markedly different from all the foregoing is Grevy's zebra (E. grevyi), of Somali- 

 land and Abyssinia, a large species recognisable at a glance by the huge, broad 

 ears, thickly lined on the inside with long hair, the great number and narrowness 

 of the black stripes, separated from one another by equally narrow white intervals, 

 and the concentric arrangement, with the concavity upwards, of the stripes on the 

 rump. This zebra, though only known to naturalists at a comparatively recent date, 

 appears to have been familiar to the Greeks under the name of Hijipotigris, and 

 was probably the species exhibited in the Roman amphitheatre. It was also known 

 to, and figured by, Job Ludolphus in 1681 ; and about the same time specimens 

 were sent to the governor of the Dutch East Indies at Batavia, by whom they 

 were presented to the Emperor of Japan. Possibly, in the matter of coloration, 

 Grevy's zebra is the most primitive member of the whole group ; the quagga, the 

 typical race of the bonte-quagga, and the wild ass, being evidently specialised 

 species, which have tended, in a greater or less degree, to discard the striping. 



Ethiopian Africa, from between the Cape and 20° N. latitude on 

 the east and west coasts, as well as in many of the central equatorial 

 districts, is the home of a remarkable group of small ungulates of about the size 

 of a rabbit or a hare, known as hyraxes. The typical representative of the group 

 is, however, the Syrian hyrax (Procavia, or Hyrax, syriaca) of Syria and Arabia, 

 the animal miscalled in our translation of the Bible the coney, that is to say, 

 the rabbit. Although not unlike the short-eared rabbits of south-eastern Asia, the 

 hyraxes have no affinity with the rodents, but are really aberrant members of the 

 great Ungulate order, so aberrant indeed that naturalists class them in a sub- 

 ordinal group by themselves — the Hyracoidea. The feet, which have four toes in 

 front and three behind, recall those of a tapir, having large, flat, hoof-like nails. 

 Their most remarkable feature is, however, their teeth, in which the cheek-series 

 recalls that of a rhinoceros, while the front teeth, which include one large, dagger- 

 like pair in the upper jaw, are quite unlike those of any other animal. Another 

 remarkable feature is the presence, in most of the numerous species at any rate, of 

 a large glandular patch in the middle of the back, the position of which is indicated 

 by the lighter or darker colour of the hair. The coat, which is of medium length, 

 is coarse and thick, and generally of some shade of brown ; the small ears are 

 rounded and half-buried in the fur, and the tail is rudimentary. 



The more typical species of hyrax generally inhabit rocky districts, ranging 

 from sea-level to an altitude of as much as 10,000 feet. In Nubia the group is 

 represented by P. burtoni, while Abyssinia is the home of P. abyssinica, a species 

 characterised by the small and inconspicuous gland-patch on the back. A third 



