CONEY

(shaphan), a gregarious animal of the class Pachydermata, which is found in Palestine, living in the caves and clefts of the rocks, and has been erroneously identified with the rabbit or coney. Its scientific name as Hyrax syriacus . The hyrax satisfies exactly the expressions in (Psalms 104:18; Proverbs 30:26) Its color is gray or brown on the back, white on the belly; it is like the alpine marmot, scarcely of the size of the domestic cat, having long hair, a very short tail and round ears. It is found on Lebanon and in the Jordan and Dead Sea valleys.