Pachycrocuta Temporal range: Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene),
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Cast of the holotype skull at the Musée Crozatier | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | Hyaenidae |
Genus: | †Pachycrocuta Kretzoi 1938 |
Species: | †P. brevirostris
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Binomial name | |
†Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Gervais, 1850)
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Possible species | |
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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. Pachycrocuta first appeared during the late Miocene (Messinian, 7.2 to 5.3 million years ago[3]). By 800,000 years ago, it became locally extinct in Europe, with it surviving in East Asia until at least 500,000 years ago, and possibly later elsewhere in Asia.[4]