Brown hyena: Difference between revisions

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
imported>Brian F. Kuhn
imported>Paul Wormer
(Redirecting to Brown hyaena)
 
(2 intermediate revisions by one other user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{subpages}}
#REDIRECT [[Brown hyaena]]
{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = brown hyena
| image = Brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) heading toward seal colony, namibia.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Brown hyena (''Parahyaena brunnea''), [[Namibia]].{{photo|Brian F Kuhn}}
| status =  LR/nt
| status_system = iucn2.3
| status_ref = <ref>[http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/10276/all]</ref>
| regnum = [[Animalia]]
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Carnivora]]
| subordo = [[Feliformia]]
| familia = [[Hyaenidae]]
| genus = '''''Parahyaena'''''
| species = '''''P. brunnea'''''
| binomial = ''Parahyaena brunnea''
| binomial_authority = [[Thunberg]], 1820
}}
 
The '''brown hyena''' ''Parahyaena brunnea'' is the only species within the genus '''''Parahyaena'''''. It has the most restricted range of the members of the [[biological family|family]] [[Hyaenidae]]. Current research is showing that the behaviour of this hyena is extremely variable.
 
 
 
==Behaviour==
 
The brown hyena was previously believed to be strictly nocturnal. <ref name=Stuart/> <ref name=Skinner/>. Current research on the south west coast of Namibia shows that brown hyaenas are active all hours of the day and night. <ref name=Wiesel/> Females give birth to 2-3 cubs at any time of the year <ref name=Stuart/>. They live in loose clan systems, which share a fixed home range, but forage alone.
 
==Diet==
 
Not an efficient hunter, in most of its range the brown hyena is primarily a scavenger and forages a wide range of food from vegetables and fruit to reptiles, birds and mammals. The lone exception to this is the populations living on the Namibian coast where they have been observed killing seal pups. They are capable of scavenging from the largest available prey in the region <ref name=Kuhn>{{cite Thesis|title=The collecting behaviour and taphonomic signatures of hyaenids=|author=B. Kuhn|authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2006 |format= |work= |publisher=Unpublished|pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref> They are known to collect vast quantities of faunal remains in their dens, said collections of bone are a direct reflection of the other species found in the region at the time of collection <ref name=Kuhn/>.
 
==Geographical distribution==
 
The range of brown hyena is limited to areas of Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and south west Angola. At one time their range extended all the way to Table Bay in the Western Cape of South Africa <ref name=Skinner/>.
 
==References==
{{reflist}}

Latest revision as of 02:13, 30 January 2008

Redirect to:

Retrieved from "https://citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=Brown_hyena&oldid=37410"