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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Hi all,
as I said already in my post from 2007-10-24 my name is " "Spot""
you can see i grow rapidly and my mom is taking good care of me.
today my father is back in our outside stay and my mom monitors me as none other one
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Hyaenidae
Genus: Crocuta
Species: C. crocuta
Binomial name: Crocuta crocuta
The Spotted Hyena, or Laughing Hyena, (Crocuta crocuta) is a mammal of the order Carnivora. They are moderately large, terrestrial carnivores native to Africa.
They are best known for croaking, birdlike bark that resembles the sound of hysterical human laughter. Though often labeled incorrectly as a scavenger, the spotted hyena is actually a powerful hunter, the majority of its nourishment being derived from live prey. Spotted hyenas are the most common predator in sub-saharan Africa, living in savannah, dry woodland and desert habitats.
Reproduction:
The female Spotted Hyena's urogenital system is unique among mammals: the clitoris is elongated to form a fully erectile phallus, the vaginal opening is at the tip of this phallus. - only the shape of the glans at the tip of the phallus makes it possible to differentiate the sexes. The female urinates, mates and gives birth through this pseudo-penis. Since it is impossible to penetrate without the female's cooperation, female hyena have full control over whom they choose to mate with. The male hyena's penis lacks a baculum, a bone found in the genitals of most mammals.
Birth is very difficult: the internal birth canal extends almost to the subcaudal location of the vulva (which in Crocuta is fused to form a scrotum containing fatty pseudo-testes) before turning abruptly towards the clitoris, and the clitoris itself is narrow (although it ruptures with the first parturition, making subsequent births easier). In captivity, many cubs of primiparous mothers are stillborn because of the long labour times involved, and in the wild, it is estimated that 10% of first time mothers die during labour.These factors suggests that at some point there must have been powerful selective pressures driving the evolution of masculinisation.
Researchers originally thought that one of the things that causes this characteristic of the genitals is androgens that are expressed to the fetus very early on in its development. However, it was discovered that when the androgens are held back from the fetus, the development of the female genitalia was not altered. Other hyena species lack this adaptation, making it a fairly recent one in the hyena line. Masculinised female genitalia also appears in some lemurs, spider monkeys, and the Binturong but the fused vulva is unique to the hyena.
Hyenas are born with their eyes open and teeth already fully developed after a 4 month gestation period. At birth, the cubs weigh 2.2 to 3.6 lb (1-1.6 kg), and are among the few mammals to commit neonatal siblicide. A same sexed litter will result in vicious fighting between the cubs, often resulting in death. This siblicide is estimated to contribute to 25% of hyena cub mortality. Since a single cub will receive more food and mature faster, this behavior is probably adaptive. Spotted hyena milk is very rich, having the highest protein content (14.9%) of any terrestrial carnivore, and the fat content (14.1%) is second only to the polar bear, so unlike lions and wild dogs, they can leave their cubs for about a week without feeding them. Two to six weeks after whelping, young are transported to the communal den. Young depend entirely on milk for about 8 months and are not weaned until 12 to 16 months old. Maturation is at three years, females later than males. Female offspring remain in their natal clan while males leave at around two years.
"Source."
Picture has been taken at the "Rotterdam Zoo ."
(site in english) |
claudine, Miss_Piggy has marked this note useful
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