Hyenictitheria

In the USSR, hyenictiterium was first discovered in East Kazakhstan in the town of Karabulak in 1964 by a geological expedition, in which paleobotanist G. A. Avakov participated. He drew attention to strange bones located on the slope of the stream. The Institute of Paleontology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR decided to study the find in detail. When the bulldozer removed the topsoil, a whole burial of animals of the latest hipparionic fauna in the USSR opened. The bone layer in length exceeded one hundred meters. Paleontologists found petrified bones of giraffes , rhinos , primitive ancestors of horses - hipparions , saber-toothed tigers and other animals, their contemporaries. Among the findings was discovered the skull of hyenictiterium.

These animals are often called jackals of the hipparionic fauna, although this independent group has nothing to do with jackals. From whom these animals came is not exactly known. Hyenictiterium is a predator of open spaces, its prey is various ungulates : antelopes , gazelles , etc. Most likely, they were scavengers . They lived in packs and led a social way of life and hunting methods.

Probably, hyenictiterium became extinct due to competition with the ancestors of wolves and jackals , which appeared much later.

The image of hyenictiterium can be seen on a postcard from the series "Fine Art", Moscow, 1989 "Through the pages of the animal world"

• The taxonomy of hyenictiterium (English) (link not available)