European Hippopotamus

Taxobox
name = "European Hippopotamus"


fossil_range = Early Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Artiodactyla
familia = Hippopotamidae
genus = "Hippopotamus"
species = †"H. antiquus"
binomial = †"Hippopotamus antiquus"
binomial_authority = Desmarest 1822 [· Desmarest, A.G., 1822. Mammalogie ou description des espèces de mammifères. Mme Veuve Agasse imprimeur édit., Paris, 2ème part., pp.277-555.]

The European Hippopotamus ("Hippopotamus antiquus") was a species of hippopotamus that ranged across Europe, becoming extinct some time before the last ice age at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. "H. antiquus" ranged from the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles to the Rhine River to Greece."150 Years of Neanderthal Discoveries; Early Europeans - Continuity & Discontinuity," ed. von Koenigswald, Wighart and Thomas Litt, TERRA NOSTRA 2006/2 University of Bonn, [http://www.neandertal.uni-bonn.de/kongress_bonn/terra%20nostra08-3-8-06.pdf in PDF] ]

The European Hippo was similar in size and form to "Hippopotamus gorgops", and much larger than the common Hippopotamus ("Hippopotamus amphibius"). The European Hippo is believed to have first appeared around 1.8 million years ago, compared to 2 million years ago for "H. amphibius". Beginning in the Middle Pleistocene, "H. amphibius" also lived in Europe, but is not considered a European Hippopotamus. Petronio, C. (1995): Note on the taxonomy of Pleistocene hippopotamuses. "Ibex" 3: 53-55. [http://www.mountainecology.org/IBEX3/pdf/Art_Capitolo1/note_taxonomy_pleistocene.pdf PDF fulltext] ]

The Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus ("H. creutzburgi") is believed to be derived from the European Hippopotamus through the process of insular dwarfism on the island of Crete.

References