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It is currently the rarest species of hyena. [7] The largest remaining brown hyena population is located in the southern Kalahari Desert and coastal areas in Southwest Africa. [8] The global population of brown hyena is estimated by IUCN at a number between 4,000 and 10,000 and its conservation status is marked as near threatened in the IUCN ...
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 aardwolf can trace its lineage directly back to Plioviverrops 15 million years ago, and is the only survivor of the dog-like hyena lineage.
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.
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 mammalian pseudo-penis appears to be simply for display, though the spotted hyena is an exception: the female spotted hyena urinates, copulates, and gives birth through her pseudo-penis. This prevents males from mating without the full co-operation of females, which means that mating preferences of the female are predominant.
The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed the blood, excrement, rectum, genitalia, eyes, tongue, hair, skin, and fat, as well as the ash of different parts of the striped hyena's body, were effective means to ward off evil and to ensure love and fertility. The Greeks and Romans believed that the genitalia of a hyena "would hold a couple peaceably ...
Chasmaporthetes was one of the so-called "dog-like" hyenas (of which the aardwolf is the only survivor), a hyaenid group which, in contrast to the now more common "bone-crushing" hyenas, evolved into slender-limbed, cursorial hunters like modern canids.
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.