Dallas Krentzel
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) skull
Here we have the massive bone-crushing teeth of the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). The other hyena species, excluding the aardwolf, are overall pretty similar. The most massive tooth, all the way on the right in the upper row, is the carnassial (premolar four or P4), which is plesiomorphic or primitive for all carnivoran mammals (some groups, such as pinnipeds, bears, raccoons, etc, have reduced the carnassial) that is adapted for cutting and serrating flesh. Here in the hyena, it is much larger and blunter, but so are the other premolars, which makes the hyena exceptional among mammamlian bone-crushers (for example, the wolverine only has a highly modified P4, while the other premolars are not as exaggerated in size. See the link below). The only true molar is highly reduced, and sometimes absent. You can see it in some of the other adjacent photos in the stream.
You can see the rest of the skull is very robust and impressive, like the teeth. I should have included a photo of the sagittal crest, as there's a whole other interesting story to tell there...
For the wolverine, see: www.flickr.com/photos/31867959@N04/3243598040/
Compare with another hyaenid carnivore, the aardwolf: www.flickr.com/photos/31867959@N04/4121244926/
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) skull
Here we have the massive bone-crushing teeth of the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). The other hyena species, excluding the aardwolf, are overall pretty similar. The most massive tooth, all the way on the right in the upper row, is the carnassial (premolar four or P4), which is plesiomorphic or primitive for all carnivoran mammals (some groups, such as pinnipeds, bears, raccoons, etc, have reduced the carnassial) that is adapted for cutting and serrating flesh. Here in the hyena, it is much larger and blunter, but so are the other premolars, which makes the hyena exceptional among mammamlian bone-crushers (for example, the wolverine only has a highly modified P4, while the other premolars are not as exaggerated in size. See the link below). The only true molar is highly reduced, and sometimes absent. You can see it in some of the other adjacent photos in the stream.
You can see the rest of the skull is very robust and impressive, like the teeth. I should have included a photo of the sagittal crest, as there's a whole other interesting story to tell there...
For the wolverine, see: www.flickr.com/photos/31867959@N04/3243598040/
Compare with another hyaenid carnivore, the aardwolf: www.flickr.com/photos/31867959@N04/4121244926/