WORLD HIPPO DAY - February 15, 2023 - National Today

WORLD HIPPO DAY - February 15, 2023 - National Today
Hippos are thought to have originated from a group of semiaquatic animals called Whippomorpha. This group later split into two branches around 54 million years ago. The first branch, which includes whales and dolphins, evolved to become complete aquatic cetaceans. The second branch became anthracotheres, a close ancestor of the common hippo.

During the Pliocene Epoch (over two million years ago), all branches of the anthracotheres went extinct, except those that evolved into Hipopotamidae. This group of hippo ancestors migrated to Africa around 35 million years ago and dominated the continent as one of the earliest large mammals. Between 16 and eight million years ago, the oldest known hippopotamid, Kenyapotamus, strived in the African continent. But the group that later evolved into the modern hippo was Archaeopotamus, which lived between 7.5 and 1.8 million years ago in Africa and the Middle East.
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