Cave hyena

Extinct subspecies of carnivore

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.

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