Hyaena brunnea Thunberg 1820

Hyaena brunnea Thunberg 1820, K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl. Stockholm: 59.

Type Locality: "Goda Hopps Udden; Södra Afrika" [South Africa, Western Cape Prov., Cape of Good Hope].

Vernacular Names: Brown Hyena.

Synonyms: Hyaena fusca E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1825; Hyaena melampus Pocock 1934; Hyaena striata A. Smith 1826; Hyaena villosa A. Smith 1827 .

Distribution: Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe.

Conservation: U.S. ESA – Endangered as Parahyaena (= Hyaena) brunnea; IUCN – Lower Risk (nt).

Discussion: Reviewed by Mills (1982). See comments under genus for inclusion of brunnea under Hyaena . Pocock (1934 c) and Jenks and Werdelin (1998) argued that neither morphological nor molecular studies have supported the recognition of subspecies at present. Synonyms according to Jenks and Werdelin (1998).