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Hippopotamidae

File:Choeropsis.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ213336· pop 74· linked from 478 articles

Hippopotamidae

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Also known as hippopotamuses, hippopotami

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. They are formally referred to as hippopotamids.

OverviewAI-generated

Hippopotamidae is a family of mammals within the order Artiodactyla, class Mammalia, and phylum Chordata. The family name was established by Gray in 1821 and is governed by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. It is classified under the kingdom Animalia. The taxon has an accepted status and includes the type species Hippopotamus.

This group consists of large, semi-aquatic herbivores that share a suborder with whales. The family originated in the Miocene, approximately 16 million years ago. Currently, only two species exist: the hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus, both of which are found in Africa. Their habitats include marine, brackish, and freshwater environments.

Specimen records for Hippopotamidae are held by institutions such as UCMP, NHMUK, and YPM. These records originate from countries including Malawi, Tanzania, Pakistan, Egypt, and India. The family has been documented in 21,104 occurrences and is referenced by 478 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Encyclopedia of Life, Gbif Occ, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Hippopotamidae

FAMILY

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassMammalia
  4. OrderArtiodactyla
  5. FamilyHippopotamidae
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
Observations recorded21,104

河马科（学名：Hippopotamidae）是哺乳纲偶蹄目的一科，为大型水陆两栖的草食动物，与鲸类同属河马形亚目。现存仅有河马和倭河马两种，都生活在非洲。

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
82
With media
6
Family
Hippopotamidae
Collections
UCMP, NHMUK, YPM
Recorded in
Malawi, Tanzania, Pakistan, Egypt, India
iDigBio →

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

11 sections
Contents
  • Characteristics
  • Evolution
  • Taxonomy
  • Analogous structures
  • Species
  • Recent species
  • Fossil species
  • See also
  • Footnotes
  • References
  • Further reading

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. They are formally referred to as hippopotamids.

There are two living species of hippopotamid in two genera; the pygmy hippo, Choeropsis liberiensis of the forests of west Africa, and the common hippo, Hippopotamus amphibius. The term hippopotamus can also be applied to hippopotamids in general, although it is most frequently used for the common hippo and its respective genus.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hippopotamidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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