Knowra Cave hyena Cave hyena The cave hyena is an extinct Pleistocene form of spotted hyena that ranged across parts of Eurasia. It is usually classified as the subspecies Crocuta crocuta spelaea .},
Spotted hyena : The largest living hyena species, native to much of sub-Saharan Africa. Cave hyenas are usually treated as an extinct subspecies of this species.
Bone-crushing adaptation : Anatomical features that let carnivores break and consume bones. Cave hyenas, like living spotted hyenas, had powerful jaws suited to processing large carcasses.
Grotte Chauvet : A decorated Upper Paleolithic cave in southeastern France, occupied by humans about 36,000 years ago. Hyena remains at the site document the animal's presence in Ice Age France.
Brown hyena : A living hyena species native to arid regions of southern Africa. It is a living hyena with a different range and evolutionary history.
Crocuta crocuta spelaea : The scientific name commonly used for the cave hyena subspecies. This name expresses the prevailing classification of the cave hyena.
Carnivore : An animal that obtains most of its food by eating other animals. Cave hyenas were large carnivores that hunted and scavenged.
Kirkdale Cave : A fossil-rich cave in North Yorkshire, England, containing remains of Pleistocene animals. Its hyena-den deposits helped establish the significance of fossil cave assemblages.
Striped hyena : A living hyena species found across parts of North and East Africa and Asia. Its Asian range overlaps the broad region occupied by cave hyenas, but it is a distinct species.
Hyena : A carnivorous mammal in the family Hyaenidae, native today to Africa and parts of Asia. The cave hyena belongs to this family of specialized carnivorans.
Megafauna : Large-bodied animals, especially those characteristic of prehistoric ecosystems. Large Ice Age mammals supplied prey and carrion across the cave hyena's range.
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