The hippo is a large, mostly herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal and ungulate native to sub-Saharan Africa. Adults average 1,500 kg for males and 1,300 kg for females. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 kmh over short distances. The closest living relatives of hippos are cetaceans, from which they diverged about 55 million years ago.
About Hippopotamus in brief
The hippo is a large, mostly herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal and ungulate native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus. Hippos are recognisable by their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths revealing large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, columnar legs and large size. Adults average 1,500 kg for males and 1,300 kg for females. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 kmh over short distances. The closest living relatives of hippos are cetaceans, from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth. The name comes from the ancient Greek for \”river horse\”. After the elephant and rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus is the third-largest type of land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl. Hippo is among the most dangerous animals in the world due to its highly aggressive and unpredictable nature. A group is called a pod, herd, dale, or bloat. A study examining mitochondrial DNA from skin biopsies taken from 13 sampling locations considered genetic diversity and structure among hippo populations across the continent.
Until 1909, naturalists grouped hippos on natural lines with pigs, based on molar patterns. Several lines of evidence, first from blood proteins, then from molecular system, show that their closest relatives are ceaceans – dolphins and whales. The most recent theory of the hippopotamids’ origins suggests that hippos and whales branched off from Ruminantia and the rest of the even-toed ungulates; the cetanidae; the hippo lineages; and the porcine porcina Suina Tylopoda Suetacea Hippopotamina. The hippo has been the subject of a number of films and TV shows, including ‘Hippo’ and ‘The New World’. It has also been featured on the Discovery Channel and the BBC’s ‘This is Life’ series, which airs on Sundays at 8pm and 9pm ET/PT. It can be ordered by clicking here for more information on how to buy a copy of the book, including how to watch it on DVD and how to download it on a PC. For more information about The New World, visit www.thenewworld.co.uk or click here for the TV series, “This Is Life on a DVD.” It is also available on the BBC iPlayer, and on the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store, as well as on the Amazon and the Amazon App Store, for the Kindle and the PC App Store.
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This page is based on the article Hippopotamus published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 01, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
