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Hippopotamus (genus)
Encyclopedia
Hippopotamus is the name of a genus
consisting of one extant species, Hippopotamus amphibius, also known as the Hippopotamus, and several extinct species. It belongs to the family Hippopotamidae
, which also includes the Pygmy Hippopotamus
(Choeropsis liberiensis) and a number of extinct genera.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
consisting of one extant species, Hippopotamus amphibius, also known as the Hippopotamus, and several extinct species. It belongs to the family Hippopotamidae
Hippopotamidae
Hippopotamuses are the members of the family Hippopotamidae. They are the only extant artiodactyls which walk on four toes on each foot.- Characteristics :...
, which also includes the 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...
(Choeropsis liberiensis) and a number of extinct genera.
Species
The species of the genus Hippopotamus include:- †ExtinctionIn biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
Hippopotamus aethiopicus - Hippopotamus amphibius, HippopotamusHippopotamusThe 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...
- †Hippopotamus antiquus
- †Hippopotamus behemoth
- †Hippopotamus creutzburgi, 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....
- †Hippopotamus gorgopsHippopotamus gorgopsHippopotamus gorgops is an extinct species of hippopotamus. It first appeared in Africa during the late Miocene, and eventually migrated into Europe during the early Pliocene . It became extinct prior to the Ice Age.With a length of and a shoulder height of H...
- †Hippopotamus kaisensis
- †Hippopotamus laloumena, Malagasy HippopotamusMalagasy HippopotamusSeveral species of Malagasy Hippopotamus lived on the island of Madagascar but are now believed to be extinct. The animals were very similar to the extant Hippopotamus and Pygmy Hippopotamus...
- †Hippopotamus lemerlei, Malagasy HippopotamusMalagasy HippopotamusSeveral species of Malagasy Hippopotamus lived on the island of Madagascar but are now believed to be extinct. The animals were very similar to the extant Hippopotamus and Pygmy Hippopotamus...
- †Hippopotamus madagascariensis, Malagasy HippopotamusMalagasy HippopotamusSeveral species of Malagasy Hippopotamus lived on the island of Madagascar but are now believed to be extinct. The animals were very similar to the extant Hippopotamus and Pygmy Hippopotamus...
- †Hippopotamus majorHippopotamus majorHippopotamus major is an extinct species of hippopotamus found in Pleistocene fossil sites in Europe and Great Britain....
- †Hippopotamus melitensis, 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...
- †Hippopotamus minor, Cyprus Dwarf HippopotamusCyprus Dwarf HippopotamusThe Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus or Cypriot Pygmy Hippopotamus is an extinct species of hippopotamus that inhabited the island of Cyprus until the early Holocene....
- †Hippopotamus pentlandi, Sicilian HippopotamusSicilian HippopotamusHippopotamus pentlandi is an extinct hippopotamus. It arrived after the Messinian salinity crisis and lived during the Pleistocene on Sicily...
- †Hippopotamus sirensis