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Nile Hippopotamuses
Hippopotamus
The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), or hippo, is a large, mostly herbivorous, semi-aquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). The name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος). After the elephant and rhinoceros, the common hippopotamus is the third-largest type of land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to...
4 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 1 known species
Common Hippopotamus
speciesHippopotamus amphibius
Giant Lacustrine Hippopotamus
speciesHippopotamus gorgops
Lemerle's Dwarf Hippopotamus
speciesHippopotamus lemerlei
Malagasy Dwarf Hippopotamus
speciesHippopotamus madagascariensis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Kircher: China Illustrata (1667)
Athanasius Kircher · 1667 · p.262
Georg Wolfgang Knorr — Deliciae naturae selectae (1771)
Georg Wolfgang Knorr · 1771 · p.352
Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis)
Jacob Meydenbach · 1491 · p.653
Flora Sinensis (Chinese-Latin Natural History)
Michał Boym · 1656 · p.69
Ortus sanitatis
1491 · p.731
Garden of Health
Jacob Meydenbach · 1491 · p.729
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.723
History of Monsters
Ulisse Aldrovandi · 1642 · p.931
History of Monsters
Ulisse Aldrovandi · 1642 · p.932
Noah's Ark
Athanasius Kircher · 1675 · p.118
Ortus sanitatis
1491 · p.601
Georg Wolfgang Knorr — Deliciae naturae selectae (1771)
Georg Wolfgang Knorr · 1771 · p.350
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Hippopotamus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 42147.