hippo

hippo

The common-hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or hippo nile is a herbivorous mammal of large sub-Saharan Africa and one of only two non-extinct species Hippopotamidae family, the other being the pygmy hippo (liberiensis Choeropsis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis) . Its name comes from ancient Greek, meaning "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος). Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other even-toed ungulate ungulates (being so called porcine animal), their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, etc.) of which diverged about 55 million years . The common ancestor of whales and hippos are demarcated from other even-toed ungulate about 60 million years ago. The oldest known fossil hippopotamus, belonging to the genus Kenyapotamus in Africa, dating from about 16 million years ago. It has been designated as seahorse and fish-horse.

The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, with mouths wide open capacity revealing large prey canine, almost hairless body (without the) form of column legs and its large size. The legs end with four fingers with different webbed. Each finger rests on the ground by its respective hull. They are the third largest land animal life with respect to the weight (between 1½ and 3 tonnes), the only species in heavier average are white rhinos and Indian rhinos, and elephants. It has a length on average of 3.5 m and a height of 1.5m. The hippopotamus is one of the largest quadrupeds and despite its stocky and short legs look, you can easily overcome a human being. There are speed record of 30 km / h hit by hippos over short distances. It is a highly aggressive and unpredictable animal behavior and is considered one of the most dangerous African animals. However, they are a vulnerable species due to loss of habitats and due to hunting for its meat, canine teeth of ivory and its skin.

It is a semiaquático animal that inhabits the banks of rivers, lakes and marshes of the gender of mangroves and may even reach the brackish waters of estuaries, where a dominant male presides over a part of the river where groups of five to thirty females and young offspring. During the day, keep the body cool getting in the water or mud; both mating and delivery occur in water. They emerge at dusk to apascentarem the grass. Though they remain close to each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity, having no territorial habits on dry land.