Thick-billed Euphonia (Euphonia laniirostris). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive.
No dogs here! Hyenas are not members of the dog or cat families. Instead, they are so unique that they have a family all their own, Hyaenidae. There are four members of the Hyaenidae family: the striped hyena, the âgigglyâ spotted hyena, the brown hyena, and the aardwolf (itâs a hyena, not a wolf). These magnificent animals are sometimes called the scourge of the Serengeti, but they play an important role: cleanup crew!
Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Hyena. Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora, and one of the smallest in the mammalia. Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components to most African and some Asian ecosystems.