Proteles amplidentus is an extinct species of prehistoric hyena closely related to the living aardwolf. It lived during the Plio-Pleistocene in South Africa, where fossils have been found in the Swartkrans dated to as recently as 1.5 million years ago. Proteles amplidentus has additionally been found in the Kromdraai fossil site.Werdelin, Lars; Solounias, Nikos. (1991-05-31). "The Hyaenidae: taxonomy, systematics and evolution" Fossils and strata. 30: 42. ISSN 0300-9491. .
Characteristics Proteles amplidentus was similar to the modern aardwolf in most respects but had less reduced cheek teeth. The former species was larger and had larger canine teeth. It had a smaller third premolar than the aardwolf and its second and third premolars were positioned more anteriorly.
Etymology and naming Proteles amplidentus was initially named Proteles transvaalensis by Hendey (1974),Hendey, Q. B. (1974-07-31). "New fossil carnivores from the Swartkrans australopithecine site" Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 29 (3): 35-38. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA00411752_211 but Proteles cristatus transvaalensis (Roberts, 1932)Roberts, Austin. (1932-10-01). "Preliminary description of fifty-seven new forms of South African mammals" Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 15 (1): 6. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA00411752_616 had already been used to describe a subspecies of aardwolf. Proteles amplidentus was proposed by Werdelin & Solounias (1991) in reference to the larger dentition of this species in comparison to the extant aardwolf.
References