Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus
Encyclopedia
The Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus or Cypriot Pygmy Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus minor) is an extinct species of hippopotamus
that inhabited the island of Cyprus
until the early Holocene
.
The 200-kilogram (440-lbs) Cyprus Dwarf Hippo was roughly the same size as the extant pygmy hippopotamus
. Unlike the modern pygmy hippo, the Cyprus Dwarf became small through the process of insular dwarfism
. This same process is believed to cause the dwarfism found in some dwarf elephant
s, the Pygmy Mammoth
, and Homo floresiensis
. The animal is estimated to have measured 76 centimetres tall and 121 centimetres long.
Hippopotamus minor is the smallest hippopotamus of all known insular hippopotamuses. The extremely small size of the hippo is in favour of a Middle Pleistocene or perhaps even Early Pleistocene colonization. At the time of its extinction between 11,000 and 9,000 years ago, the Cyprus Dwarf Hippo was the largest animal on the island of Cyprus. It was a herbivore and had no natural predators.
Excavation sites on Cyprus, particularly Aetokremnos
, provide evidence that the Cyprus Dwarf Hippo may have encountered and been driven to extinction by the early human residents of Cyprus.
A similar species of hippo, the Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus
(Hippopotamus creutzburgi) existed on the island of Crete
, but became extinct during the Pleistocene
.
), a Greek Orthodox Saint who, according to local myth, had fled from Syria to escape his percursors but had stranded at the hostile rocky coast of Cyprus. The collected bones are grinded into a powder with medicinal powers. To honour the local tradition and to refer to the site, Sondaar and Boekschoten named their new genus Phanourios, following the Greek spelling. They gave the specific name minutus, but this was later changed into minor following rules of priority.
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
that inhabited the island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
until the early Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
.
The 200-kilogram (440-lbs) Cyprus Dwarf Hippo was roughly the same size as the extant pygmy hippopotamus
Pygmy Hippopotamus
The pygmy hippopotamus is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa . The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal...
. Unlike the modern pygmy hippo, the Cyprus Dwarf became small through the process of insular dwarfism
Insular dwarfism
Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of the reduction in size of large animals – typically mammals – when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is distinct from the intentional creation of dwarf...
. This same process is believed to cause the dwarfism found in some dwarf elephant
Dwarf elephant
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea, that, through the process of allopatric speciation, evolved to a fraction of the size of their immediate ancestors...
s, the Pygmy Mammoth
Pygmy Mammoth
The Pygmy Mammoth or Channel Islands Mammoth is an extinct species of dwarf elephant descended from the Columbian mammoth . A case of island or insular dwarfism, M. exilis was only to tall at the shoulder and weighed about , in contrast to its tall, ancestor.Remains of M...
, and Homo floresiensis
Homo floresiensis
Homo floresiensis is a possible species, now extinct, in the genus Homo. The remains were discovered in 2003 on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Partial skeletons of nine individuals have been recovered, including one complete cranium...
. The animal is estimated to have measured 76 centimetres tall and 121 centimetres long.
Hippopotamus minor is the smallest hippopotamus of all known insular hippopotamuses. The extremely small size of the hippo is in favour of a Middle Pleistocene or perhaps even Early Pleistocene colonization. At the time of its extinction between 11,000 and 9,000 years ago, the Cyprus Dwarf Hippo was the largest animal on the island of Cyprus. It was a herbivore and had no natural predators.
Excavation sites on Cyprus, particularly Aetokremnos
Aetokremnos
Aetokremnos is a rock shelter near Limassol on the southern coast of Cyprus. It is situated on a steep cliff site ca. 40m above the Mediterranean. The name means "Cliff of the eagles" in Greek.Ca. 40 m2 have been excavated. Of the four layers found, No...
, provide evidence that the Cyprus Dwarf Hippo may have encountered and been driven to extinction by the early human residents of Cyprus.
A similar species of hippo, the Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus
Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus creutzburgi is an extinct species of hippopotamus which lived on the island of Crete. Hippopopotamus colonized Crete probably 800,000 years ago and lived there during the Middle Pleistocene....
(Hippopotamus creutzburgi) existed on the island of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, but became extinct during the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
.
Alternative name
Many scientist maintain the name Phanourios minor for the Cypriot dwarf hippo. This generic name was given by Paul Sondaar and Bert Boekschoten in 1972, based on the remains from Agios Georgios, Cyprus. At the site, a chapel had been built into the fossiliferous rocks. The rock strata here are very rich in bone content (bone breccia). For centuries, as already mentioned by Bordone in the 16th century, villagers go there to collect some of these bones, which in their opinion are holy, because they are the petrified remains of Saint Fanourios (see also Phanourios (saint)Phanourios (saint)
Phanourios the Great Martyr & Newly Appeared of Rhodes is recognized as a saint by the Greek Orthodox church. He is commemorated on August 27....
), a Greek Orthodox Saint who, according to local myth, had fled from Syria to escape his percursors but had stranded at the hostile rocky coast of Cyprus. The collected bones are grinded into a powder with medicinal powers. To honour the local tradition and to refer to the site, Sondaar and Boekschoten named their new genus Phanourios, following the Greek spelling. They gave the specific name minutus, but this was later changed into minor following rules of priority.
See also
- Cretan Dwarf HippopotamusCretan Dwarf HippopotamusHippopotamus creutzburgi is an extinct species of hippopotamus which lived on the island of Crete. Hippopopotamus colonized Crete probably 800,000 years ago and lived there during the Middle Pleistocene....
- Maltese HippopotamusMaltese HippopotamusHippopotamus melitensis is an extinct hippopotamus. It arrived after the Messinian salinity crisis and lived during the Pleistocene on Malta. The absence of predators led to the dwarfing of the hippos...
- Sicilian HippopotamusSicilian HippopotamusHippopotamus pentlandi is an extinct hippopotamus. It arrived after the Messinian salinity crisis and lived during the Pleistocene on Sicily...
- Cyprus Dwarf ElephantCyprus Dwarf ElephantThe Cyprus Dwarf Elephant is an extinct species of elephant related to the living Asian Elephant.-Description:Believed to be descended from the Straight-tusked Elephant, this much smaller species inhabited Cyprus and some other Mediterranean islands after the Messinian salinity crisis, during the...