Ictitherium ebu* was a hyena that lived in what is now Kenya during the late Miocene and early Pliocene, around 7-5 million years ago. It was part of an early branch of the hyaenids known as ictitheres, dog-like hyenas found across Miocene Africa and Eurasia that occupied similar ecological niches to modern canids.
(*alternatively classified as Hyaenictitherium ebu by some studies)
It was similar in size to the modern aardwolf, standing about 50cm tall at the shoulder (~1’8″) – but it had proportionally longer legs, giving it a build convergently similar to the present-day maned wolf. Despite these long limbs it wasn’t a fast runner, with its joint anatomy instead suggesting it was adapted for efficient walking, pouncing on prey, and looking over the tall grasses of its savanna woodland habitat.
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