Parahyaena

Parahyaena is a genus of hyenas that contains the extant brown hyena. Parahyaena howelli, an early member of this genus, has been dated to approximately 4 million years ago.

Taxonomy

Pérez-Claros argued that Parahyaena and Pachycrocuta were synonymous, and that Pliocrocuta perrieri and "Hyaena" prisca should be included under Pachycrocuta. A later study by Martínez-Navarro et al. regarded Parahyaena and Pliocrocuta as distinct from Pachycrocuta.

Conservation status

With an estimated population of 8,000 individuals, the brown hyena is considered near threatened on the IUCN red list. The brown hyena is mainly threatened by the increase of agriculture in non-protective areas throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.