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The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) (/ ˌ h ɪ p ə ˈ p ɒ t ə m ə s /; pl.: hippopotamuses; often shortened to hippo (pl.: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa.
Hippopotamidae is a family of stout, naked-skinned, and semiaquatic artiodactyl mammals, possessing three-chambered stomachs and walking on four toes on each foot. While they resemble pigs physiologically, their closest living relatives are the cetaceans.
A seahorse (also written sea-horse and sea horse) is any of 46 species of small marine bony fish in the genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippókampos (ἱππόκαμπος), itself from híppos (ἵππος) meaning "horse" and kámpos (κάμπος) meaning "sea monster" [4] [5] or "sea animal". [6]
Their adaptation can be seen in many unique physiognomic characteristics such as the dorsal blowhole, baleen teeth, and the cranial 'melon' organ used for aquatic echolocation. The closest extant terrestrial relative to the whale is the hippopotamus, which spends much of its time in the water and whose name literally means "horse of the river".
Physical interference, such as tail-grasping during feeding, hinders growth and survival at higher densities, with crowding negatively affecting juvenile development. Gender segregation does not significantly impact the growth of sexually mature seahorses, although same-sex courtship behaviours are observed, suggesting that social dynamics ...
The Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus is the smallest known hippopotamus species, along with the roughly same-sized living African pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). The Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus is estimated to have had a body mass of around 130 kilograms (290 lb), [ 7 ] a height of 70 cm (2.3 ft) and a length of 125 cm (4.1 ft), [ 2 ] an ...
Hippopotamus is a genus of artiodactyl mammals consisting of one extant species, Hippopotamus amphibius, the river hippopotamus (or simply the hippopotamus), and several extinct species from both recent and prehistoric times.
Despite adaptations to a more terrestrial life than the common hippopotamus, pygmy hippos are still more aquatic than all other terrestrial even-toed ungulates. The ears and nostrils of pygmy hippos have strong muscular valves to aid submerging underwater, and the skin physiology is dependent on the availability of water.