Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

General Information:

As the largest members of the family Hyaenidae, spotted hyena resemble dogs in their physical appearance but are more closely related to felines. Spotted hyenas have a sturdy build, high shoulders and a massive head with powerful jaws and broad, rounded ears. The coat of natal spotted hyenas is unspotted and nearly black, while that of juveniles is heavily spotted and gray. As hyenas continue to mature their coats become less spotted and lighter. Regardless of age, all spotted hyenas have a black nose and a bushy tail with a black tip (Spotted Hyena, 2003; Estes, 1996).

Spotted hyenas live in clans, which are complex social groups composed of multiple adult females, their offspring and immigrant males. Within each clan there is a dominance hierarchy based upon maternal rank that allows all females to dominate over all immigrant males (Kruuk, 1972 as cited in Boydston et al., 2001). This female dominance is reflective of the physical dimorphism that exists between male and female spotted hyenas. Female hyenas stand approximately 5 inches taller than male hyenas and are approximately 16 lbs heavier. Females weigh 99 to 145 lbs. (45 to 65 kg), while males weigh 88 to 120 lbs. (40 - 55 kg) (Spotted Hyena, 2003). Other research confirms this weight difference between the sexes, but fails to identify a difference in length and attributes females' greater body mass to their increased stomach size (Frank, 1986).

Although females are considerably heavier than male hyenas, it is often difficult to distinguish between the sexes because sexual monomorphism has evolved within the species. Female hyenas have an enlarged clitoris that is of similar size, shape and erectile ability to that of the male penis. Since females don't have an external vagina they must urinate, mate and give birth through the urogenital canal. In addition to their pseudopenis, female hyenas also have a pseudoscrotum, which is formed by the fusion of external lab(Muller and Wrangham, 2002).

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