Hyenas, Asia
Dinocrocuta skull
Dinocrocuta gigantea
The skull of Dinocrocuta with its short, high muzzle — larger than that of the cave bear.
5 500 000 ₽ · By order
- Epoch
- Neogene period
- Age
- ≈ 11–5 Mya
- Origin
- Asia
- Classification
- Dinocrocuta gigantea, a hyena-like predator of the Miocene
- Habitat
- Open landscapes of Miocene Asia and Africa
- Ref.
- R–0226
Among the predators of the open landscapes of Miocene Asia and Africa, Dinocrocuta gigantea stands out — an animal outwardly resembling a hyena, yet not its direct ancestor.
A short, high muzzle, heavy zygomatic arches and teeth as thick as a finger gave it the most powerful jaws of the epoch. Its usual prey were animals the size of an antelope or a horse, yet rhinoceros skulls bearing the marks of its teeth are also known: Dinocrocuta crushed bone that other predators could not reach.
The skull of this individual is larger than that of a cave bear. It retains the matrix base on which it was found.
Dinocrocuta skulls are rare in any collection, including museum collections. The specimen reads both as evidence of an extinct branch of predators and as an object with an exceptionally strong silhouette.
As found
Dinocrocuta full face, as in the skull: a broad muzzle and the masticatory muscles that crushed bone. The Miocene plains at dusk.