Cave hyena

Uncommon card · No. 154917

Cave hyenas (Crocuta (crocuta) spelaea and Crocuta (crocuta) ultima) are extinct species or subspecies of hyena known from Eurasia, which ranged from Western Europe and West Asia to eastern Siberia, East Asia and Southeast Asia during the Pleistocene epoch. They are well represented in many caves, primarily dating to the Last Glacial Period. Cave hyenas served as apex predators that preyed on large mammals (primarily large ungulates, such as wild horse, steppe bison and aurochs), and were responsible for the accumulation of hundreds of large Pleistocene mammal bones in areas including horizontal caves, sinkholes, mud pits, and muddy areas along rivers. It was one of the main apex predators of northern Eurasian ecosystems alongside the cave lion (Panthera spelaea), with the two species likely engaging in hostile conflict over carcasses. Much like African spotted hyenas, they likely lived in clans. Often treated as subspecies or populations of the living African spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta...

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