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Hippopotamidae (hippopotamus)

Mammalia - Hippopotamidae

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1821Hippopotamidae Gray p. 306
1850Hippopotamidae Bonaparte p. 1
1883Hippopotamidae Flower p. 184
1889Hippopotamidae Cope p. 876
1891Hippopotamidae Flower and Lydekker p. 89
1910Hippopotamidae Gregory p. 466
1911Hippopotamidae Jaekel p. 234
1977Hippopotamidae Coryndon p. 73
1987Hippopotamidae Gaziry p. 309
1988Hippopotamidae Carroll
1989Hippopotamidae Stuenes p. 243
1991Hippopotamidae Nowak
1997Hippopotamidae McKenna and Bell p. 399
1997Hippopotamidae Montgelard et al. p. 556
1999Hippopotamidae Waddell et al. p. 2
2000Hippopotamidae Ursing et al.
2000Hippopotamidae Weston p. 177
2001Hippopotamidae Thewissen et al. p. suppl.
2003Hippopotamidae Boisserie et al. p. 16
2003Hippopotamidae Boisserie et al. p. 2
2004Hippopotamidae Arnason et al. p. 33
2005Hippopotamidae Boisserie p. 12
2005Hippopotamidae Boisserie et al.
2008Hippopotamidae Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 4.3
2009Hippopotamidae Spaulding et al.
2010Hippopotamidae Asher and Helgen p. 3 figs. Figure 1
2010Hippopotamidae Boisserie et al. p. 351
2010Hippopotamidae Weston and Boisserie p. 853
2011Hippopotamidae Boisserie et al. p. 620 figs. Table 1

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
RankNameAuthor
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Artiodactylamorpha
Artiodactyla()
Whippomorpha
superfamilyHippopotamoideaGray 1821
familyHippopotamidae
familyHippopotamidae

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Fm. Hippopotamidae Gray 1821 [hippopotamus]
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Subfm. Hippopotaminae Gray 1821
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G. †Archaeopotamus Boisserie 2005
+
Archaeopotamus harvardi Coryndon 1977
G. Choeropsis Leidy 1853 [pygmy hippo]
+
G. †Chororatherium Boisserie et al. 2003
+
Chororatherium roobii Boisserie et al. 2003
G. †Hexaprotodon Falconer and Cautley 1836 [pygmy hippo]
+
Hexaprotodon aethiopicus Coryndon and Coppens 1975
Hexaprotodon bruneti Boisserie and White 2004
Hexaprotodon crusafonti Aguire 1963
Hexaprotodon dissimilis Falconer and Cautley 1836
Hexaprotodon dulu Boisserie 2004
Hexaprotodon garyam Boisserie et al. 2005
Hexaprotodon imaguncula Hopwood 1926
Hexaprotodon iravticus Falconer and Cautley 1847
Hexaprotodon mingoz Boisserie et al. 2003
Hexaprotodon namadicus Falconer and Cautley 1847
Hexaprotodon palaeindicus Falconer and Cautley 1847
Hexaprotodon pantanellii Joleaud 1920
Hexaprotodon primaevus Crusafont et al. 1964
Hexaprotodon sahabiensis Gaziry 1987
Hexaprotodon siculus Hooijer 1946
Hexaprotodon sivalensis Falconer and Cautley 1836
G. Hippopotamus Linnaeus 1758 [hippo]
+
Subg. †Hippopotamus (Tetraprotodon) Falconer and Cautley 1836
Hippopotamus aethiopicus Coryndon and Coppens 1975
Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus 1758 [hippo]
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Invalid names: Hippopotamus incognitus Faure 1984 [synonym]
Hippopotamus antiquus Desmarest 1822
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Invalid names: Hippopotamus tiberinus Mazza 1991 [synonym]
Hippopotamus behemoth Faure 1986
Hippopotamus creutzburgi Boekschoten and Sondaar 1966
Hippopotamus gorgops Dietrich 1928
Hippopotamus kaisensis Hopwood 1926
Hippopotamus karumensis Coryndon 1977
Hippopotamus laloumena Faure and Guerin 1990
Hippopotamus lemerlei Milne Edwards 1868
+
Invalid names: Hippopotamus leptorhynchus Grandidier and Filhol 1894 [synonym]
Hippopotamus major Cuvier 1824
Hippopotamus meltensis Major 1902
Hippopotamus minor Desmarest 1822
Hippopotamus protamphibius Arambourg 1944
Hippopotamus sirensis Pomel 1896
Invalid names: Hippopotamus amphibius standini Monnier and Lamberton 1922 [nomen nudum], Trilobophorus Geze 1985 [synonym]
G. †Phanourios Boekschoten and Sondaar 1972
G. †Saotherium Boisserie 2005
+
Saotherium mingoz Boisserie 2005
Subfm. †Kenyapotaminae Pickford 1983
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G. †Kenyapotamus Pickford 1983
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Kenyapotamus coryndonae Pickford 1983
Kenyapotamus ternani Pickford 1983
Invalid names: Palaeopotamus Pickford 2007 [synonym]
G. †Kulutherium Pickford 2007
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Kulutherium kenyensis Pickford 2007
G. †Morotochoerus Pickford 1998
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Morotochoerus ugandensis Pickford 1998
Invalid names: Hippopotamina Gray 1825 [empty]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialo
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: amphibiousf
Diet: grazerf
Diet 2: browserf
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Comments: life habit and diet based on Nowak 1999f
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:09
Modified: 2005-08-23 13:12:21
Source: f = family, o = order, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988, Nowak 1999, Lillegraven 1979, Nowak 1991

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Burdigalian to the top of the Holocene or 20.44000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 15.97 Ma

Collections (585 total)

Oldest occurrences

Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Early/Lower Miocene23.03 - 15.97Kenya Kulutherium kenyensis (77025)
Early/Lower Miocene - Middle Miocene23.03 - 11.608Uganda Morotochoerus ugandensis (28292 28293)
Miocene - Pliocene23.03 - 2.588South Africa Hippopotamus sp. (22220 22229)
Miocene - Pliocene23.03 - 2.588Uganda Hippopotamus kaisensis, Hexaprotodon imagunculus (22399)
Neogene23.03 - 2.58Myanmar Hippopotamus sp. (215569)
Miocene - Pleistocene23.03 - 0.0117Ethiopia Hexaprotodon sp. (22128)
Burdigalian20.44 - 15.97Kenya Kulutherium kenyensis (77024)
Langhian - Serravallian15.97 - 11.62Kenya Hippopotamidae indet. (22273) Morotochoerus ugandensis (22303) Palaeopotamus ternani (74559)
Serravallian13.82 - 11.62Kenya Hippopotamidae indet. (22284) Kenyapotamus coryndoni (22292)
Serravallian13.82 - 11.62Kenya (Central Nyanza) Kenyapotamus ternani (21340)
Serravallian - Tortonian13.82 - 7.246Tunisia (Gafsa) Kenyapotamus sp. (35277 35279 35280)
Serravallian - Tortonian13.82 - 7.246Ethiopia Hippopotamidae indet. (22157)
Tortonian11.62 - 7.246Kenya Hippopotaminae indet., Kenyapotamus coryndonae (219711)
Tortonian - Messinian11.62 - 5.333Kenya Hexaprotodon sp., Hexaprotodon harvardi (22243) Hexaprotodon sp., Hexaprotodon lothagamensis, Hexaprotodon harvardi (22241)
Tortonian - Zanclean11.62 - 3.6Ethiopia Hexaprotodon sp. (22158 22159 22179) Hexaprotodon sp., Hexaprotodon harvardi (22139)
Tortonian - Zanclean11.62 - 3.6Kenya Hippopotamidae indet., Hexaprotodon harvardi, Hippopotamus sp. A, Hippopotamus sp. B (22236)
Late/Upper Miocene11.608 - 5.333Thailand (Nakhon Ratchasima) Hexaprotodon sp. (144187)
Late/Upper Miocene11.608 - 5.333United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) Hexaprotodon harvardi (28245)
Late/Upper Miocene - Early/Lower Pliocene11.608 - 3.6Chad Hexaprotodon harvardi, Hexaprotodon mingoz (24181)
Late/Upper Miocene - Early/Lower Pliocene11.608 - 3.6Uganda Hippopotamus sp., Hippopotamus kaisensis, Hexaprotodon imagunculus (22345)