296 Report on a Zoological collection [No. 4. 



sullied or isabella-white for the basal half, and then black with a 

 white tip : hence, in the living animal, the bushy tail would appear 

 whitish along its middle, with broad black lateral and longitudi- 

 nal bands, which again are fringed externally with dull white : hairs 

 upon the feet whitish, the tufts or brushes over and impending the 

 hind-claws shewing conspicuously : the combing apparatus of the 

 innermost hind-toe consists of some exceedingly harsh and stiff 

 short bristles immediately impending (but shorter than) the claw, 

 and above these again are some equally short bristles which are not 

 quite so rigid ; over which is finally the long incurved tuft of finer 

 bristles, the lowermost of which are shorter and more rigid than 

 the upper : on the next toe the same remarkable structure is seen, 

 and more easily felt, but is considerably less developed.* 



*Hyrax habesslntcus, Hemprich and Ehrenberg : Ashkoho of 

 the Appendix to Bruce' s Travels ; recognised as a distinct species 

 by Dr. Gray ; but referred by Dr. Eiippell to H. damar, Cuvier, v. 

 SYRIActts of Schreber. Half-grown specimen. " The Somal call it 

 Bauni, ^y.. It inhabits rocky ground and delights in sunning itself, 

 running about the rocks, and living in chinks and holes. Neither 

 Lt. Speke nor I ever saw it in the plains. The Arabs here eat it, 

 but the Somal do not." 



*Gazella ■ ? Heads of male and female, of one of the 



* This discovery of a second generic form of a peculiar group, hitherto repre- 

 sented only by Ctenodactylus (which has long stood quite isolated among other 

 Rodentia), will be hailed with some satisfaction by those who have paid attention 

 to the classification of the Order, and will tend to remove such doubts as may 

 exist of the propriety of recognising this as a separate family (however limited, 

 according to present knowledge), about equivalent to the Chinchillid^e of S. 

 America, to which, upon the whole, the Pecttnatorid^e would seem to be more 

 nearly affined than to any other known form. It is highly probable, however, 

 that more species and even generic forms remain to be discovered of this pecu- 

 liarly African family ; and that it will prove to be at least as extensive as the 

 Chinchillid^e ; and perhaps that even Petromys should be admitted within its 

 extreme confines. Capt. Lyon's Tripoli animal, with tail reduced to a mere tuber- 

 cle, is certainly one species which has not yet been scientifically examined ; and 

 the Gundi Marmot of Pennant is probably another : but these little mouse- 

 coloured rodents seldom attract the attention of unscientific collectors ; unless, 

 indeed, it should so happen that their attention had been especially directed to them. 



