Crocuta crocuta (spotted or laughing hyaena, Kaup 1828, Erxleben 1777; up to 160 cm in length, Pliocene, 10 mya to present) is a running carnivore, hunter and scavenger with large bone-cracking carnassial teeth. Traditionally considered close to Nandinia (African palm civet) and Herpestes (mongoose) the large reptile tree nests Crocuta with Canis.

The mating process is complicated, as the male's penis enters and exits the female's reproductive tract through her pseudo-penis rather than directly through the vagina, which is blocked by the false scrotum and testes.