spotted hyena, laughing hyena (Crocuta crocuta) Artist Jacques Christophe Werner (1798–1856)  
Creator:C. de Lasteyrie
Description
Hyaena maculata
Date 1818-1842
Source/Photographer Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire & Cuvier, Histoire naturelle des mammifères, pl. 52
Old Latin name Hyaena maculata
New Latin name Crocuta crocuta
Common name Nederlands: Gevlekte hyena
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hyaena_maculata_-_1818-1842_-_Print_-_Iconographia_Zoologica_-_Special_Collections_University_of_Amsterdam_-(white_background).jpg
The spotted hyena or laughing hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is a species of hyena, currently classed as the sole member of the genus Crocuta, native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Its current distribution is patchy in many places, especially in West Africa. There is a continuous distribution over large areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and the Transvaal Lowveld areas of South Africa.
