Largest hyaena

The largest species of hyaena is the spotted hyaena Crocutacrocuta, which is native throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, occurring in virtually all but the most extreme of habitats there. Adults measure 95–165.8 cm in body length, with a shoulder height of 70–91.5 cm, and exceptionally can weigh as much as 90 kg, but average 67.5 kg. Adult females are generally larger than males.

The spotted hyaena once ranged throughout Europe as well as Africa, and also existed in Asia, reaching eastward as far as the Russian Far East. By 14–11,000 years ago, however, it had disappeared from Western Europe, seemingly due to diminishing grasslands enabling the wolf to out-compete it, but the cause of its extinction elsewhere in Eurasia is currently unknown.