Pachycrocuta (hyaenids) from the Pliocene of east Africa

• Hyaenas belonging to the genus Pachycrocuta 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 of Pachycrocuta 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 species Pachycrocuta 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.

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NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Zoologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Zoology (hsv//eng)

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