Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Pachycrocuta is an extinct genus of prehistoric hyenas.The largest and most well-researched species is Pachycrocuta brevirostris, colloquially known as the giant short-faced hyena as it stood about 90–100 cm (35–39 in) at the shoulder [1] and it is estimated to have averaged 110 kg (240 lb) in weight, [2] approaching the size of a lioness, making it the largest known hyena.
Hyenas are known to have preyed on humans in prehistory: human hair has been found in fossilized hyena dung dating back 195,000 to 257,000 years. [68] Some paleontologists believe that competition and predation by cave hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) in Siberia was a significant factor in delaying human colonization of Alaska. Hyenas may have ...
A 2024 study of a cave hyena genome from Sicily found that as with the 2020 study, there was strong genetic separation between Eurasian cave and African spotted hyenas, but unlike the 2020 study, there was no robust support for a basal split between East Asian/Siberian and European cave hyenas, with the Sicilian cave hyena found to be the ...
The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), also known as the laughing hyena, [3] is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus Crocuta, native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN due to its widespread range and large numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. [1]
The scavenger took to time to frolic in a South African watering hole and it was pretty cool.
It is still unclear whether the genus evolved in Africa or Asia, although the oldest known fossils are from Africa and dated to about 3.8 mya. [1] The earliest remains from Asia currently attributed to the genus is Crocuta honanensis from the Early Pleistocene of China dating to around 2.5-2.2 million years ago, but its relationship to the living spotted hyena is ambiguous.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Also unlike spotted hyenas, all adult members of the clan will carry food back to the cubs. [7] They are not fully weaned and do not leave the vicinity of their den until they reach 14 months of age. [6] Brown hyenas reach full size at an age of around 30 months [14] and have a life span of about 12 to 15 years. [15]