Hyenas, also known as hyaenas (from the Ancient Greek v, haina), are feliform carnivorous mammals of the family Hyaenidae /handi/. It is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the class Mammalia, with only four extant species (each in its own genus). Despite their low diversity, hyenas are distinct and essential components of the majority of African ecosystems.

Although phylogenetically closer to felines and viverrids, hyenas are behaviorally and morphologically similar to canids in several ways due to convergent evolution; both hyenas and canines are non-arboreal, cursorial hunters who catch prey with their teeth rather than their claws.