Species Profile

Hippopotamus amphibius

Category
🐾 Mammals

Common Hippopotamus

The common hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius ), or hippo , is a large, mostly herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus ( Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis ). The name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (αΌ±Ο€Ο€ΞΏΟ€ΟŒΟ„Ξ±ΞΌΞΏΟ‚). After the elephant and rhinoceros, the common hippopotamus is the third-largest type of land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to...

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