Cave hyena
A molar of a cave hyena found in Kents Cavern. Cave hyena are extinct relatives of the modern African spotted hyena, and display adaptations for life in glacial periods of earth history such as stockier limbs and larger size. The cave hyena lived throughout the Pleistocene epoch, surviving four glacial and three interglacial periods. A jaw fragment of a modern human has also been found in Kents Cavern; humans and hyenas may have been in competition for this cave as a home.
Object Summary
- Accession Loan No.
- 31/2006/1533
- Category
- Array
- Collection Class
- Fossils
- Collection Area Region
- Northern Europe
- Common Name
- cave hyena
- Simple Name
- fossil: mammal
