''Proteles'' is a genus of distinctive

hyenas Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliformia, feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the Family (biology), family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the orde ...

which contain the aardwolf ''(Proteles cristatus)'' and its close fossil relatives. It is the only extant genus of the subfamily Protelinae. While the oldest fossils definitely belonging to ''Proteles'' date back to the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

dating to around 10 million years ago has been suggested to belong to the genus, which would significantly increase its temporal range. It has been suggested that the Proelinae subfamily may actually be an offshoot of the "running hyenas" (such as '' Lycyaena'') who adapted to an insectivorous diet due to increased competition from canines and felines.

References

Carnivoran genera Mammal genera with one living species Hyenas Taxa named by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire {{Carnivora-stub