Iguana, pronounced: liè; iguana vowel l, rhymes with ie, tone fourth.
Spotted hyena (scientific name: Crocuta crocuta): also known as the spotted hyena, body length of about 95-160 centimeters, tail length of 25-36 centimeters, body weight of 40-86 kilograms, female individuals significantly larger than males. The coat is earthy yellow or tan with brown patches, and the mane is short or absent. The upper frontal canines are undeveloped, but the jaws are strong enough to drag 9 kg of prey 100 meters.
Activity in groups, each group of about 80 or so, the male individuals in the group dominant. Fierce in nature, they can prey on large and medium-sized herbivores such as zebras, hornbills and gazelles, and can compete with lions.
Eating and digesting ability is very strong, once can swallow 15 kilograms of prey with bones. It is a good runner and can reach speeds of 40-50 kilometers per hour, with a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour. Breeding throughout the year, but the rainy season for the peak of the litter, gestation period of 110 days, each litter of 2 children, males 2 years old, females 3 years of age, sexual maturity.
Classification and evolution
The spotted hyena was first formally described in 1777 by the German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben. The Ancient Greek root of the spotted hyena scientific name was used by Pliny the Elder to describe an unidentified Ethiopian animal, possibly a hyena. The root is from the scientific name of the genus Saffron, a yellow dye used in ancient times. Literally, it means "saffron-colored object.
While spotted hyenas are somewhat canine-like, they are actually closer to the genus Felidae. Spotted hyenas belong to the suborder Felidae, so they are closer to the feline family than to the canine family. The spotted hyena is the largest current member of the family Iguanidae. It is believed that the ancestors of the spotted hyena branched off from the onyx hyena in the Pliocene (5.33-1.8 million years ago).
As saber-toothed tigers began to disappear and were replaced by short-toothed cats, some hyenas began to hunt on their own and evolved into new species, including the present-day spotted hyena.