These photos illustrate the amazing similarity between the spotted hyena (crocuta) and the wolverine (gulo). Both animals are hunters and scavengers, and both are equipped with blunt, heavily enamaled teeth coupled with poweful jaws.
The only major difference is that the wolverine's premolars are not as extremely adapted to crush bone as are the hyena's, but are still thick and heavy for an animal of its size.
They are able to take advantage of food sources unavailable to other predators, such as bone marrow and even "unedible" parts like hooves.
I have sized the photos to make it appear both skulls are the same dimensions, but the spotted hyena averages 10" long and the wolverine at about 6".
Two views of the Tasmanian Devil, the marsupial counterpart of the placental bone-crushing mammals. In size, build and lifestyle it is far more like the wolverine than the spotted hyena.
