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Hippos are native to Africa and live mainly in sub-Saharan regions. They are semi-aquatic mammals and spend much of their time in slow-moving bodies of water like swamps, lakes, estuaries ...
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 and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa.
The term "cleaner shrimp" is sometimes used more specifically for the family Hippolytidae and the genus Lysmata. Cleaner shrimp are so called because they exhibit a cleaning symbiosis with client fish where the shrimp clean parasites from the fish. The fish benefit by having parasites removed from them, and the shrimp gain the nutritional value ...
Cleaning symbiosis is a relationship between a pair of animals of different species, involving the removal and subsequent ingestion of ectoparasites, diseased and injured tissue, and unwanted food items from the surface of the host organism (the client) by the cleaning organism (the cleaner). [5]
Hippos are characterized by large, barrel-shaped torsos, stocky legs, and large mouths containing equally large canine tusks. They are huge and stocky, but despite this frame, can run upwards of
In contrast, many other aquatic mammals, such as hippopotamus, capybara, and water shrews, are much less adapted to aquatic living. Likewise, their diet ranges considerably as well, anywhere from aquatic plants and leaves to small fish and crustaceans. They play major roles in maintaining aquatic ecosystems, beavers especially.
Lysmata amboinesis within the marine aquarium trade is commonly referred to as the skunk cleaner shrimp, white-banded cleaner shrimp or scarlet cleaner shrimp due to its appearance, however this last name is also sometimes used for Lysmata debelius.
A 2015 study suggests that hippo dung provides nutrients from terrestrial material for fish and aquatic invertebrates. [58] Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land across which they walk, both by keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground.