Belbus

Belbus
Temporal range: Late Miocene (Turolian)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Hyaenidae
Genus: Belbus
Werdelin & Solounias, 1991
Type species
Belbus beaumonti
Qiu, 1987
Other species

B. djurabensis Bonis et al., 2010

Synonyms
Species synonymy
  • B. beaumonti:
    • Hyaena sp.
      De Beaumont, 1968
    • Hyaena dubia
      (Zdansky, 1924) De Beaumont, 1969a
    • Hyaenictitherium cf. hyaenoides
      (Zdansky, 1924) Howell & Petter, 1980
    • Thalassictis hyaenoides
      (Zdansky, 1924) Solounias, 1981
    • Lycyaena chaeretis
      (Gaudry, 1861) Solounias, 1981
    • Thalassictis (Hyaenictitherium) hyaenoides
      (Zdansky, 1924) Solounias & De Beaumont, 1981
    • Pachycrocuta sp.
      Solounias & De Beaumont, 1981
    • Hyaenictis beaumonti
      Qiu, 1987
    • cf. Palinhyaena sp.
      Werdelin, 1988b

Belbus (from Late Latin: belbus, 'hyena') is an extinct genus of hyaenids that lived in Europe and Africa during the Turolian of the Late Miocene. Belbus had durophagous adaptations in its dentition, but was less well-adapted to durophagy than modern durophagous hyaenids such as the spotted hyena or the brown hyena.