. Annals of the South African Museum = Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. Natural history. 96 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM differences from the H. brunnea comparative series than does the mandible, although it clearly belongs to Hyaena rather than Crocuta. Table 2 dimensions of melkbos hyaena cf. brunnea upper teeth, compared with those of a series of four modern specimens. Modern Hyaena brunnea Mean Range pi-P* alveolar length J" alveolar 1 ^2 ^alveolar b 1 bm bd /"alveolar 1 * \ alveolar b. 77-2 75-9-78-5 15-5 8-3 15-1-15-7 7-8- 8-8 23-2 22-6-23-8 14-7 13-0-15-5 15-8 15-0
. Annals of the South African Museum = Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. Natural history. 96 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM differences from the H. brunnea comparative series than does the mandible, although it clearly belongs to Hyaena rather than Crocuta. Table 2 dimensions of melkbos hyaena cf. brunnea upper teeth, compared with those of a series of four modern specimens. Modern Hyaena brunnea Mean Range pi-P* alveolar length J" alveolar 1 ^2 ^alveolar b 1 bm bd /"alveolar 1 * \ alveolar b. 77-2 75-9-78-5 15-5 8-3 15-1-15-7 7-8- 8-8 23-2 22-6-23-8 14-7 13-0-15-5 15-8 15-0-16-9 32-8 19-3 30-0-34-2 18-0-20-5 The length of the anterior alveolus of the P* expressed as a percentage of the total alveolar length of this tooth, is 39 • 4, as against a mean of 43 • 6 for the H. brunnea series and 29-4 for the C. crocuta series. The alveolus of the P^ is small, almost circular in shape and overlaps the distal end of the G alveolus on its lingual side. The position of the P^ relative to the G of the comparative specimens was variable, but none exhibited an over- lapping of these teeth. With the G set back so far relatively, the canine fossa is very pronounced, and descends steeply from the infra-orbital foramen to the alveolar margin. These features, taken in conjunction with the relatively short mandibular diastema indicate an overall foreshortening of the anterior region of the snout. The lengths of the cheek tooth rows are greater than those of the comparative specimens, indicating that the foreshortening is confined to the canine /incisor region. The P^ is both longer and broader than those of the comparative series, while the P^ falls within the size range of variation. The latter differs from the P^ of the comparative series in that an anterior accessory cusp is present in the form of a small but clearly defined projection from the cingulum. Discussion Owing to the condition of the fossil specimens, the fact that they repre- sent only a single i
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
