Crocuta and Pachycrocuta are widely regarded as the most prevalent and emblematic hyenas across Eurasia during Quaternary.They are easily distinguished by their distinctive carnassial teeth.However,the disparities in ...Crocuta and Pachycrocuta are widely regarded as the most prevalent and emblematic hyenas across Eurasia during Quaternary.They are easily distinguished by their distinctive carnassial teeth.However,the disparities in non-carnassial elements are less pronounced and have received minimal attention in previous studies.This has resulted in erroneous identifications when dealing with fragmented specimens,particularly in cases where carnassial teeth are poorly preserved or absent.Such misidentifications have the potential to give rise to erroneous inferences regarding the paleozoogeography and biochronology of the animals in question.The bone-cracking hyena specimens from Huainan,Anhui(Tseng et al.,2008)are re-examined and re-evaluated here through a series of morphological comparisons and data analyses(univariate,bivariate,and multivariate analyses etc.).The results provide unequivocal confirmation that the specimens from Xiliexi are not spotted hyenas,but belong to Pachycrocuta perrieri instead.Conversely,the specimen from Dadingshan is the only genuine representative of the spotted hyena,which is supposed to be a possible earliest fossil record for Crocuta ultima thus far in China.Furthermore,the disparities in dentognathic morphology between Crocuta and Pachycrocuta are systematically summarized and analyzed,with an explanation of their eco-functional significance.The present study hypothesizes that Pachycrocuta retains a certain degree of active predatory capability,attributable to the robustness of the canine and the symphysis of the jaw,among other factors.This finding indicates that Pachycrocuta exhibits a form of flexible foraging behavior,combining opportunistic scavenging and active hunting in a manner analogous to Crocuta.Finally,the dynamic evolutionary history of hyenas in East China since Pleistocene has also been broadly reconstructed.展开更多
文摘Crocuta and Pachycrocuta are widely regarded as the most prevalent and emblematic hyenas across Eurasia during Quaternary.They are easily distinguished by their distinctive carnassial teeth.However,the disparities in non-carnassial elements are less pronounced and have received minimal attention in previous studies.This has resulted in erroneous identifications when dealing with fragmented specimens,particularly in cases where carnassial teeth are poorly preserved or absent.Such misidentifications have the potential to give rise to erroneous inferences regarding the paleozoogeography and biochronology of the animals in question.The bone-cracking hyena specimens from Huainan,Anhui(Tseng et al.,2008)are re-examined and re-evaluated here through a series of morphological comparisons and data analyses(univariate,bivariate,and multivariate analyses etc.).The results provide unequivocal confirmation that the specimens from Xiliexi are not spotted hyenas,but belong to Pachycrocuta perrieri instead.Conversely,the specimen from Dadingshan is the only genuine representative of the spotted hyena,which is supposed to be a possible earliest fossil record for Crocuta ultima thus far in China.Furthermore,the disparities in dentognathic morphology between Crocuta and Pachycrocuta are systematically summarized and analyzed,with an explanation of their eco-functional significance.The present study hypothesizes that Pachycrocuta retains a certain degree of active predatory capability,attributable to the robustness of the canine and the symphysis of the jaw,among other factors.This finding indicates that Pachycrocuta exhibits a form of flexible foraging behavior,combining opportunistic scavenging and active hunting in a manner analogous to Crocuta.Finally,the dynamic evolutionary history of hyenas in East China since Pleistocene has also been broadly reconstructed.
