Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben 1777)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Carnivora, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 532-628 : 572

Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben 1777)

[Canis] crocuta Erxleben 1777 , Systema Regni Animalis, Vol. 1: 578.

Type Locality: " Guinea, Aethiopia, ad caput bonae spei in terrae rupiumque caueis", restricted by Cabrera (1911:95) to "Senegambia".

Vernacular Names: Spotted Hyena.

Synonyms: Crocuta capensis (Desmarest 1817) ; Crocuta cuvieri (Boitard 1842) ; Crocuta fisi Heller 1914 ; Crocuta fortis J. A. Allen 1924 ; Crocuta gariepensis ( Matschie 1900) ; Crocuta germinans ( Matschie 1900) ; Crocuta habessynica (de Blainville 1844) ; Crocuta kibonotensis (Lönnberg 1908) ; Crocuta leontiewi (Satunin 1905) ; Crocuta maculata (Thunberg 1811) ; Crocuta noltei ( Matschie 1900) ; Crocuta nyasae Cabrera 1911 ; Crocuta nzoyae Cabrera 1911 ; Crocuta panganensis (Lönnberg 1908) ; Crocuta rufa (Desmarest 1817) ; Crocuta rufopicta Cabrera 1911 ; Crocuta sivalensis (Falconer and Cautley in Falconer 1868) ; Crocuta thierryi ( Matschie 1900) ; Crocuta thomasi Cabrera 1911 ; Crocuta togoensis ( Matschie 1900) ; Crocuta wissmanni ( Matschie 1900) .

Distribution: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Dem. Rep. Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (cd).

Discussion: Revised by Matthews (1939a, b). Synonyms according to Matthews (1939 a) and Jenks and Werdelin (1998) who demonstrated that subspecies are not justified.