←Back to Wiki
spotted_hyena
📅 Updated:2026-04-07
🕒 Created:2012-03-26
🆔 ID:2621
Description
The Spotted Hyena (L. Crocuta crocuta) is also known as the Laughing Hyena and is the most common and populous species of hyena, covering most of Africa.
Spotted Hyena females are difficult to distinguish from males, due to strikingly similar genitalia, including females' false penis and scrotum, which is actually a highly erectile extended clitoris called a "pseudo-penis". The female possesses no external vagina, so a male's penis must enter and exit the female's reproductive tract through her pseudo-penis. Female hyenas are almost always socially dominant over males, and the pseudo-penis makes attempts to sexually coerce females impossible.
The female spotted hyena's pseudo-penis has led to many anthropomorphic Hyena characters who are, or are assumed to be, hermaphrodites.
The female spotted hyena's pseudo-penis has led to many anthropomorphic Hyena characters who are, or are assumed to be, hermaphrodites.
See also
More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_hyena
