Pachycrocuta (hyaenids) from the Pliocene of east Africa

Abstract

Hyaenas belonging to the genusPachycrocuta were the largest hyaenas known. They had a wide distribution in the Plio-Pleistocene, having been found throughout Eurasia and in South Africa. The genus has been reported several times from east Africa, but these finds have been poorly documented. I here describe newly identified specimens ofPachycrocuta from the Turkana Basin, Kenya. It is concluded that although there are certain differences between east and South African specimens, these are of a nature that can be explained by individual variation, and therefore all African specimens are assigned to the Eurasian speciesPachycrocuta brevirostris. The migration patterns of the species are discussed and although these are still equivocal, I speculate that the species originated in Asia and migrated from there to Africa ca. 3.5 Ma and to Europe ca. 1.6 Ma.