Ictitherium (meaning "weasel beast") is an extinct genus belonging to the family Hyaenidae and the subfamily Ictitheriinae erected by Trouessart in 1897. Ictitherium species were endemic to Eurasia and Africa during the Middle Miocene through the Early Pliocene (12.7—5.3 mya) and existed approximately 7.4 million years.^[1]

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Species ...

Ictitherium Temporal range: Middle Miocene–Early Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeletal mount, Tianjin Natural History Museum
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Hyaenidae
Subfamily:	†Ictitheriinae
Genus:	†Ictitherium
Species
I. viverrinum I. syvalense  ?I. arambourgi  ?I. gaudryi  ?I. hipparionum  ?I. orbingyi  ?I. sinence  ?I. preforfex

Close

Ictitherium were around 1.2 metres (4 ft) long, and looked more like civets than modern hyenas, possessing a long body with short legs and a possibly short tail. It is speculated that I. viverrinum ate plants as well as medium-small mammals and birds.^[2] Ictitherium was a very successful and abundant genus, with multiple fossils often being found at a single site.^[3] Possibly, this early hyena genus lived in packs and had a social order, much like its modern descendants.^{[citation needed]}