Hyenas are often perceived as members of the dog family due to their physical appearance and certain behaviors. This belief stems from superficial similarities, but biological classification places them in a distinct group. Despite their dog-like features, hyenas are not canines, and understanding their true biological identity reveals a unique evolutionary path.
Hyenas Are Not Canines
Hyenas do not belong to the Canidae family, which includes dogs, wolves, and foxes. The misconception arises from their shared traits with canids. Like many canids, hyenas are cursorial hunters, adapted for running long distances, and they often consume food rapidly or store it. Their calloused feet, equipped with large, blunt, non-retractable claws, are also suited for running and agile turns.
These resemblances are a result of convergent evolution, where unrelated species develop similar characteristics because they adapt to similar environmental pressures or ecological niches. For instance, African wild dogs are sometimes mistaken for hyenas due to shared physical and behavioral parallels, including their social hunting strategies. These similarities highlight how different lineages can evolve comparable solutions to similar challenges in their habitats.
The Hyaenidae Family
Hyenas belong to their own unique biological family, Hyaenidae, which comprises four extant species: the spotted hyena, striped hyena, brown hyena, and the aardwolf. Hyenas typically have forelegs that appear longer than their hind legs, giving them a distinctive sloped back and a powerful neck and shoulder region. While their legs are nearly equal in actual length, this visual effect is due to unique skeletal and muscular adaptations.
Their dentition is formidable, particularly in the spotted hyena, which has one of the strongest bite forces among mammals, capable of crushing bones. Hyenas are highly vocal, especially the spotted hyena, known for its wide range of sounds including whoops, grunts, groans, and the distinctive “laugh.” This “laugh” typically indicates excitement or nervousness. Spotted hyenas are social carnivores, living in complex matriarchal clans that can number up to 130 individuals. They are skilled hunters, employing cooperative strategies to take down prey, though they also scavenge opportunistically.
Distant Relatives
All carnivores, including hyenas, dogs, and cats, belong to the mammalian order Carnivora. This order is broadly divided into two suborders: Feliformia, which are “cat-like” carnivorans, and Caniformia, which are “dog-like” carnivorans. Despite their canine-like appearance, hyenas are classified under Feliformia. This suborder also includes true cats (Felidae), civets (Viverridae), and mongooses (Herpestidae).
Conversely, dogs, wolves, bears, raccoons, and mustelids are part of the Caniformia suborder. A key anatomical distinction lies in their auditory bullae: feliforms have double-chambered bullae, while caniforms have single or partially divided ones. Hyenas share a more recent common ancestor with mongooses and civets than with cats, their lineage diverging from other feliforms approximately 30 to 35 million years ago. While hyenas may resemble dogs in certain functional aspects, their evolutionary history places them firmly on the “cat-like” side of the mammalian family tree.