What is Simbakubwa?
{{italictitle}} {{Automatic taxobox |fossil_range = {{fossil_range|23.0|22.0}} early [[Miocene]] |image = Simbakubwa-kutokaafrika 2.jpg |image_caption = reconstruction of<br>''Simbakubwa kutokaafrika'' |image2 = Simbakubwa_kutokaafrika.jpg |image2_caption = size comparison to human |display_parents = 3 |taxon = Simbakubwa |authority = Borths & Stevens, 2019 |type_species = †'''''Simbakubwa kutokaafrika''''' |type_species_authority = Borths & Stevens, 2019 |synonyms = }} '''''Simbakubwa kutokaafrika''''' is an extinct species of giant [[hyaena]]-like [[mammal]]. It was in the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Hyaenodonta]]. It was originally classified as a [[creodont]]. It lived during the early [[Miocene]] and was found in [[Kenya]]. The [[type specimen]] had been sitting in the [[Nairobi National Museum]] for many years until two American palaeontologists took an interest in it. It was got from deposits dated to be 23 million years old. The animal must have been huge, perhaps up to 1,500&nbsp;kg (3,300&nbsp;lb) in weight. It might have been bigger the modern [[polar bear]] in size.<ref name=Borths>{{cite journal|last1= Borths|first1=M.R.|last2= Stevens|first2=N.J.|title= ''Simbakubwa kutokaafrika'', gen. et sp. nov. (Hyainailourinae, Hyaenodonta, 'Creodonta,' Mammalia), a gigantic carnivore from the earliest Miocene of Kenya|journal= Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|year= 2019|volume=39|pages= e1570222|doi= 10.1080/02724634.2019.1570222|s2cid=145972918}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47976205 BBC News. 'Giant lion' fossil found in Kenya museum drawer]</ref> == Paleoecology == [[Africa]] in the early [[Miocene]] was much more [[forest]]ed than today, and even the area which is now Kenya would have had much less [[grassland]]. Therefore, instead of the run-and-chase routine of most carnivores today, the emphasis would be more on stealthy stalk-and-pounce methods. Teeth of this species show it did not have the crushing [[molar]]s of modern hyaenas. What it did have here huge [[carnassial]]s fo