''Pliocrocuta'' is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

. It contains the species ''Pliocrocuta perrieri'', known from the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Eurasia and possibly

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. It is possibly ancestral to ''

Pachycrocuta ''Pachycrocuta'' is an extinct genus of hyena. The largest and most well-researched species is ''Pachycrocuta brevirostris'', colloquially known as the giant short-faced hyena as it stood about at the shoulder and it is estimated to have average ...

,'' with some authors including ''P. perrieri'' within ''Pachycrocuta''. It is largely known from cranial remains. The species is estimated to have weighed around on average, with its skull showing evidence for adaptation to bone cracking. It may have have been solitary, unlike living bone cracking

spotted hyenas The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, 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 IUC ...

. ''P. perrieri'' first appeared during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58 In the earliest Pleistocene (2.6-2 million years ago) of Europe, ''Pliocrocuta'' lived alongside the fellow hyena ''

Chasmaporthetes ''Chasmaporthetes'', also known as hunting or running hyena, is an extinct genus of hyenas distributed in Eurasia, North America, and Africa during the Pliocene-Pleistocene epochs, living from 4.9 million to 780,000 years ago, existing for about ...

,'' the sabertooth cats ''

Megantereon ''Megantereon'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in Eurasia, Africa and possibly North America from the late Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene. It is a member of the tribe Smilodontini, and close ...

'' and ''

Homotherium ''Homotherium'' is an extinct genus of Homotherini, scimitar-toothed cat belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae that inhabited North America, Eurasia, and Africa, as well as possibly South America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene ...

,'' the giant cheetah ''

Acinonyx pardinensis ''Acinonyx pardinensis'', sometimes called the giant cheetah, is an extinct felid species belonging to the genus ''Acinonyx'', closely related to the cheetah, native to Eurasia from Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene epoch, from 2.8 to 1.4 ma. ...

,'' the cougar-relative '' Puma pardoides,'' the primitive lynx ''

Lynx issiodorensis ''Lynx issiodorensis'', sometimes called the Issoire lynx, is an extinct species of lynx that inhabited Europe during the late Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs, and may have originated in Africa during the late Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; als ...

'', the bear ''

Ursus etruscus ''Ursus etruscus'', the Etruscan bear, is an extinct species of bear, endemic to Europe, Asia, and North Africa during the Early Pleistocene, living from approximately 2.2 million to around 1.4-1.2 million years ago. Taxonomy The Etruscan bear ...

'', and the wild dog ''

Xenocyon falconeri ''Xenocyon'' ("strange dog") is an extinct group of canids, either considered a distinct genus or a subgenus of ''Canis''. The group includes ''Canis'' (''Xenocyon'') ''africanus'', ''Canis'' (''Xenocyon'') ''antonii'' and ''Canis'' (''Xenocyon'') ...

. Pliocrocuta'' became extinct in Europe around 2 million years ago as part of a major

faunal turnover The turnover-pulse hypothesis, formulated by paleontologist Elisabeth Vrba, suggests that major changes to the climate or ecosystem often result in a period of rapid extinction and high turnover of new species (a "pulse") across multiple different ...

event where many European animals became extinct and were replaced by immigrants from elsewhere, with ''Pliocrocuta'' being replaced by ''Pachycrocuta'' in this transition.

References

Miocene feliforms Miocene genus extinctions Miocene mammals of Europe Monotypic prehistoric carnivoran genera Prehistoric hyenas {{paleo-carnivora-stub

See also

References