Spotted Hyena was once all over China (group photo)

The spotted hyena became extinct 11,000 years ago in China and across Asia and Europe.

Currently, many Africans are feeding the spotted hyena as a pet.

African spotted hyena fighting with wolf packs

The fossilized head of a spotted hyena has been found in Qinhuangdao, which is expected to solve the mystery of the extinction of the megafauna 11,000 years ago….

The recent excavation of 21 nearly intact fossilized spotted hyena skulls, which had been extinct in Asia and Europe, at Lingxian Cave near Banchangyu Village in northern Fanning County, Qinhuangdao City, has attracted widespread attention from archaeologists and the media. The completeness and number of spotted hyena skull fossils excavated this time fills a gap in such fossils in China. Experts speculate that if the remains of ancient human activities are found in the cave, Lingxian Cave will become a new ancient human site similar to the Beijing Ape Man Site in Zhoukoudian, Beijing and Tangshan, Nanjing. And the discovery of the fossilized skull of spotted hyena will likely unravel the mystery of the great extinction of the species 11,000 years ago.

Ancient Cave Accidentally Discovered in Scenic Area Development, Multiple Animal Fossils Uncovered

In late December 2006, the Panshang Yu scenic area in Fanning County, Qinhuangdao City was preparing to develop the area around the Lingxian Cave. In the process of building a mountain road, workers stumbled upon an ancient cave along the roadside. Since there is a large natural cave nearby, the entrance of the cave located halfway up the mountain aroused great interest and curiosity, and the workers began to explore the ancient cave.

As the entrance was very narrow, the workers had to crawl into the cave slowly. The silt in the cave was very thick, and after nearly half a month of excavation and cleaning, the workers found a large number of animal bones and teeth in the silt. The teeth on these skulls were thick and sharp, and some of them were about four or five centimeters long, but they were still shiny and white even after being gently wiped by hand.

In the skull excavation site near the rock wall, showed clear scratching marks. The scenic area staff told reporters that some of these bones even have obvious abrasion marks on them. And on top of the cave there are black marks similar to smoke.

In addition, the excavation workers also found a relatively closed hole in the hole in the hole, in the hole on the ground scattered a few complete shape of walnut shells. During subsequent mud removal, four more complete animal skulls were removed, three large and one small, with one of the skull’s teeth having a hard horn more than three inches long.

Fossil concerns experts, spotted hyenas were once found throughout China

The discovery of so many animal fossils in such a short period of time attracted the attention of the scenic area staff, who quickly approached experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, hoping to uncover the secrets of these fossils.

Experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed great concern after seeing the photos of the fossils, and sent experts to the area twice for field investigation. Jin-Yi Liu, a Quaternary carnivore expert, was the first to arrive in the area, and after viewing the excavated fossils with fellow experts, they concluded that the fossils included spotted hyena, deer, wolf and wild boar. The spotted hyena is now extinct in China and even in Asia and Europe, and now only exists in Africa.

The fossilized skulls of spotted hyenas have never been seen in such large numbers and in such good condition, Liu Jinyi told the newspaper. There were once complete fossilized spotted hyena skulls unearthed in the hilltop cave at the Zhoukoudian site in China, but they were lost during World War II. Fossilized spotted hyena skulls were previously found in Yunnan and other places, but most of them contained fragmentary teeth and partial mandibles, none of them so complete.

Not only did this species of spotted hyena exist in Asia and Europe, but it was also a very prosperous species. Based on current fossil discoveries, the spotted hyena was present throughout almost all of China. However, the spotted hyena is now extinct in Asia and Europe. There is no conclusive evidence of its extinction, but it is generally attributed to factors such as global climate change, the presence of humans, and the impact of human activities that have greatly reduced its living space.

Multiple Methods for Dating Fossils, Multiple Causes of Animal Extinction

Professor and anthropologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qinqi Xu, said after an expedition in Banchangyu that, according to inference, the formation era of these spotted hyena fossils was about 11,000 years ago, which is a very special era, belonging to a specific period of the great extinction of animals. With these complete fossils, it means that we have information from 11,000 years ago, from which we can extract environmental information and climate information.

Liu Jinyi told reporters that, in terms of the fauna, the skeletal appearance of animals is different in different periods, because animals are constantly evolving and changing. Therefore, from early to late, each period, some different species, according to the composition and nature of the fauna, we can infer their era. The morphology of a particular species is not static over time. From the early to the late period, the species' morphology varies, and we can distinguish between primitive and modern forms. Based on these conditions, archaeologists can determine the age of animal fossils through such a comparison.

According to Liu Jinyi, there is still no conclusive reason for the extinction of the animals, and people have been speculating based on what they have found.

For now, we can deduce that these hyena fossils were discovered between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago, because there was a major animal extinction event on Earth after 10,000 years ago, so if this fauna was discovered after 10,000 years ago, it could help us explore this biological extinction event.

Further reading

Spotted Hyena

The Second Most Powerful Group in the African Wilderness

There are four species in the hyena family: the spotted hyena, the striped hyena, the brown hyena, and the crowned hyena. The spotted hyena is the largest species in the hyena family. While the Eurasian spotted hyena has been extinct for 10,000 years, the African spotted hyena is fortunate to have survived. The African spotted hyena is found in all parts of the continent except the Congo Basin and the northern region. They have the strongest teeth in Africa and can easily crush the ribs of large herbivores, thus eating the meat embedded in the bones that lions cannot eat.

The spotted hyena is also called the laughing hyena as it runs to catch its prey, often emitting a creepy sound similar to a human laughing. It has an incredible fighting strength, with a bite force of 700 kg in its upper and lower jaws, in other words, it can break a bison’s thigh bone in one bite! The pack is often relied upon to coax prey from lions or crocodiles. A single spotted hyena is capable of taking on a 90 kg leopard.

Spotted hyenas have a very keen sense of smell, and they can easily detect carcasses 2-3 km away. Spotted hyenas eat carrion and attack other large herbivores, even elephant cubs. They are also a predator that often travels between herds of herbivores in Africa, something that even lions do not do easily.

The spotted hyena is quite capable of autonomous predation, catching 70% of its prey on its own. They are the most powerful carnivore in Africa besides the lion, and are social group animals with a strict hierarchy, with adult females as the leader.

Beijing Science and Technology Daily: Sun Yanyan, Dong Min