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Crocuta crocuta Erxleben, 1777
Order: Carnivora > Family: Hyaenidae > Genus: Crocuta > Species: Crocuta crocuta Erxleben, 1777
Common Name: Spotted Hyaena [English]
Type Description
Syst. Regni Anim., 1:578.
Type Locality
'Guinea, Aethiopia, ad caput bonae spei in terrae rupiumque caueis', restricted by Cabrera (1911:95) to 'Senegambia'.
Measurements
Head and body: 950-1500 mm
Tail length: 300-360 mm
Weight: 40-86 kg
Tail length: 300-360 mm
Weight: 40-86 kg
Description
This hyaena is easily identifiable by the spots. Crocuta is the most frequently seen of the two hyaenas in Tanzania and is often heard calling at night.
Distribution
Widely distributed in a fragmented fashion throughout Africa south of the Sahara down to Namibia and Botswana, Crocuta crocuta is not found in wooded or forested country but in open savannas, Acacia communities, montane moors and grasslands, dry steppe, and plains up to 4,000 m. (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:260-279. 2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 261-263.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:786, 791-793.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:786, 791-793.