Percrocuta

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Percrocuta
Fossil range: Mid to Late Miocene

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Percrocutidae
Genus:	Percrocuta Kretzoi, 1938

Species

Percrocuta giganteus
Percrocuta hebeiensis

Percrocuta is an extinct genus of hyena.

With a maximum length of 1.50 m (5 ft), Percrocuta was much bigger than its modern relatives, but smaller than a female lion. It probably looked like the modern spotted hyena^{[citation needed]}, the largest living species. Like the spotted hyena, Percrocuta had a large skull and very powerful jaws. Similar to modern hyenas, its hind legs were shorter than the front legs, resulting in a characteristic sloping back.