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The four extant species are the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), and the aardwolf (Proteles cristata). The aardwolfcan trace its lineage directly back to Plioviverrops15 million years ago, and is the only survivor of the dog-like hyena lineage.
- Hyena Profile
- Interesting Hyena Facts
- Hyena Fact-File Summary
A hyenais a prehistoric predator that has outlasted some of the most iconic monsters of the palaeolithic, survived the ice age, and was chasing humans out of caves for tens of thousands of years. It has some of the most powerful jaws in the animal kingdom and most of what we know about certain populations of early hominids come from bone fragments ...
1. There are dog-like and cat-like hyenas
A really long time ago, hyenas split into two groups. One branch evolved to be like dogs, and the other grew to look a bit more like cats, at least in the formation of their jaw. Cats and hyenas both have reduced dentition, so their skulls can be hard to tell apart, at least when they’re not connected to the rest of the hyena. Almost all of the dog-like hyenas went extinct when real dogs arrived and took up all the niches. That’s why, out of the 4 species of hyena around today, only one repre...
2. They’re bone crushers
As we mentioned, the dog-like hyenas went one way, and the cat-like hyenas another. The latter developed a useful survival tactic that may have helped them survive: they evolved to crush and eat bone. The spotted hyena has a bite force of 1,100 psi, which is more powerful than lions and tigers. Along with an immense bite force, the cat-like hyenas adapted their stomach acid and gut flora to digest almost everything in an animal carcass. That allowed them to eat long-dead meat, leftover from o...
3. There was once a 200kg hyena that could crush elephant bones
One of these hyenas was an absolute monster. Pachycrocuta brevirostris, a giant hyena, and the largest bone-crusher ever known, evolved alongside early humans, and competed for the same food source. This now-extinct member of the hyena family was heavy and slow, more cumbersome than its modern relatives, and is thought to have been a pure scavenger. 2
Scientific Classification
1. Riley Black (2019), “Prehistoric Hyena’s Teeth Show Bone-Crushing Carnivore Roamed the Arctic“, Smithsonian Mag. 2. Riley Black (2017), “In the Shadow of the Greatest Hyena“, Scientific American. 3. Sarah Zhang (2012), “Hyenas Change Their Diet During Lent, According to a Poop Analysis“, Discover Mag. 4. Lorena Lyon (2019), “Hyenas Probably Have More Friends Than You: Spotted hyena social hierarchies“, Havard. 5. Nicolas Mathevon (2010), “What the hyena’s laugh tells: Sex, age, dominance a...
hyena, (family Hyaenidae), any of three species of coarse-furred, doglike carnivores found in Asia and Africa and noted for their scavenging habits. Hyenas have long forelegs and a powerful neck and shoulders for dismembering and carrying prey. Hyenas are tireless trotters with excellent sight, hearing, and smell for locating carrion, and they ...
Habitat of the Hyena. Different species of hyenas have slightly different habitat preferences. Aardwolves live in dry, open bushland and plains, and are restricted to areas where termites are plentiful. Spotted hyenas will live in mountainous areas, woodlands, savannas, and even semi-deserts. Brown hyenas live in deserts, semi-deserts, savannas ...
The hyena (spelled “hyaena” in some parts of the world) is Africa’s most common large carnivore. There are three hyena species — spotted, brown, and striped. Spotted hyenas are the largest of the three. They are fairly large in build and have relatively short torsos with lower hindquarters, and sloping backs.
Hyenas are known for their vocalizations, especially their characteristic “laugh”. This laughing sound is made to alert other members of their clan of the location of food. Other vocal sounds include howling and wailing. The spotted hyena communicates the most through laugh, giggles, lows, grunts, groans, whoops, whines, and yells.
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Jun 10, 2016 · The spotted hyena is the largest species, and it grows to 4 to 5.9 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) long and 2.5 to 2.6 feet (77 to 81 centimeters) tall from paw to shoulder. They weigh 88 to 190 lbs. (40 ...
