Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758

Order: Carnivora > Family: Hyaenidae > Genus: Hyaena > Species: Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758

Common Name: Striped Hyaena [English]

Type Description

Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1:40.

Type Locality

'India', restricted by Thomas (1911a:134) to 'Benna Mts., Laristan, S. Persia'.

Measurements

Head and body: 910-1200 mm
Tail length: 260-320 mm
Weight: 37-55 kg

Description

The stripes on this animal differentiate it from Crocuta, the other hyaena known from Tanzania.

Distribution

Preferring dry country like arid steppe, sub-desert, Acacia scrub, dry savannas, open montane habitats, and rocky escarpments, Hyaena hyaena is distributed throughout northern and northeastern Africa from the southern border of the Sahara desert up to the northern coastline and is also present in East Africa including Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and northern and central Tanzania. (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:280-290. 2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 259-260.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:786, 790-791.
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.