Hippopotamus - The Common Hippo, The Hippo's Teeth And Its Diet, Hippo In Water, Reproduction
hippos africa toed hoofed
The common or river hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a huge, even-toed hoofed herbivore that lives in bodies of freshwater in central and southern Africa. A second species, the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), lives in water bodies in Western African rainforests. Both species are included in the family Hippopotamidae.
The name hippopotamus means "river horse" but hippos are only distantly related to horses. Horses are odd-toed hoofed animals, while hippos are even-toed in the class Artiodactyla. Hippos have four hoofed toes on each foot. The common hippo has webbing between its toes, while the pygmy hippo has less webbing.
Fossil finds indicate that hippos are formerly found throughout much of Eurasia, but today hippos are found only in the tropical regions of Africa. The common hippo is abundant in the rivers, lakes, and swamps of most of sub-Saharan Africa, while the pygmy hippo is limited to forested areas in West Africa.
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A hippo's eyes, ears, and nostrils are all positioned in a single plane that can stay above water when the rest of the animal is submerged. Both the ears and the nostrils can close, at least partially, when in water. Hippos do not see well either on land or in the water; instead, they depend on their acute hearing to warn them of danger and their good sense of smell to find food. When alarm…
A single herd of hippos may include up to 100 animals. The herd's location, foraging, and movement are
A hippopotamus. Photograph by William & Marcia Levy. The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers, Inc. Reproduced by permission.
controlled by a group of mature females. The females and their young inhabit the center of a herd's territory, called the cr&#x…
Pygmy hippos were discovered relatively recently in 1913, when an agent for a German animal collector caught several specimens and sent them back to Europe. The smaller pygmy hippo is proportioned more like a pig than the common hippo. Pygmy hippos reach a height of only about 3 ft (1 m), a length of 5 ft (1.5 m), and weigh only about 500 lb (227 kg). The oily black skin has a greenish tinge, with…
Hippos herds greatly benefit the rivers and lakes where they live, their excrement fertilizing the vegetation of the habitat. As a result, all animals in the food chain benefit, and fishing is usually very good in hippo areas. When the supply of nearby vegetation in areas near hippo pools became scarce, however, these huge animals sometimes feed in farm fields, where many have been shot. Also, hip…
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