Protictitherium
- Europe
- Asia
- Africa
Protictitherium was one of the phylogenetically oldest genres of hyenas and lived during the Miocene 18-8, possibly up to 7 million years ago in Eurasia and Africa. They can be classified in the subfamily Ictitheriinae who belong to no more recent representatives.
The genus is considered to be one of the earliest within the family of hyenas, but is paraphyletic. Protictitherium had a physique that today the civets in shape and size possible, and lived perhaps partly as a climber on trees. Probably the animals fed mainly on insects or were omnivorous.
The type Protictitherium punicum that you, among other things 12 million years old knows layers of the Bled - Dorah lineup in Tunisia, one of the first representatives of hyenas who immigrated from Europe to Africa.
Several species have been described:
- P. aegaeum Kaya, Geraads & Tuna, 2005
- P. Schmidt- Kittler cingulatum, 1976
- P. crassum Deperet, 1892
- P. gaillardi Forsyth Major, 1903
- P. intermedium Schmidt- Kittler, 1976
- P. praecurrens Dehm, 1950
- P. punicum,