Ictitherium

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Ictitherium
Fossil range: Mid Miocene to Early Pliocene
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Hyaenidae
Genus: Ictitherium
Species
  • I. viverrinum
  •  ?I. arambourgi
  •  ?I. gaudryi
  •  ?I. hipparionum
  •  ?I. orbingyi
  •  ?I. sinence
  •  ?I. preforfex

Ictitherium is an extinct genus of hyena.

The 1,20 m (4 ft) long creature looked more like a civet than a hyena, possessing a long body with short legs. Judging from its teeth, it was an insectivore. Ictitherium was a very successful and numerous creature, often turning up in mass graves caused by floods. Possibly, this early hyena lived in packs and had a social order, much like its modern descendants.