Hyaena (genus)

For the Siouxsie and the Banshees album, see Hyæna.

For the group of animals commonly known as "hyaena", see Hyena.

Hyaena is a genus comprising two of the living species of hyenas: the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) from western Asia and northern Africa and the brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) from southern Africa. The brown hyena has sometimes been placed in a separate genus Parahyaena, or even included in the otherwise fossil genus Pachycrocuta, but recent sources have tended to place it in Hyaena. The brown hyena's skull is larger than the striped hyena's skull. The male brown hyena is slightly larger than the female, while the sexes of the striped hyena are both the same size. Both species are smaller than the spotted hyena but larger than the aardwolf. They are predominantly scavengers.