• Nyumbani
  • Proteles cristata Sparrman, 1783

Proteles cristata Sparrman, 1783

Order: Carnivora > Family: Hyaenidae > Genus: Proteles > Species: Proteles cristata Sparrman, 1783

Common Name: Aardwolf [English]

Type Description

Resa Goda-Hopps-Udden., I. 1:581.

Type Locality

English translation (Sparrman, 1786) of original locality: 'Agter-Bruntjes hoogte. . . Thich takes in the upper part of Kleine Visch-river, and is separated from Camdebo by Bruntjes hoogtens . . .'; listed in G. M. Allen (1939) as 'Near Little Fish River, Somerset East, Cape Colony' [South Africa].

Measurements

Head and body: 550-800 mm
Tail length: 200-300 mm
Weight: 9-14 kg

Description

The very small teeth behind the canines distinuish this mammal from all other carnivores.

Distribution

Distributed in the south from southern Angola to Mozambique and south to the coastline and in the northeast from central Tanzania through Kenya, Uganda, southern Ethiopia and Somalia and north along the coastline to Eritrea, Proteles is found in heavily grazed areas, trampled grasslands and savannas, sandy plains and plateaus where termites flourish. (Kingdon, 1989, 1997)

Key References

1. Kingdon, J. 1989. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Carnivores). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 3A:292-301. 2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 264-265.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:786-787.
4. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.