Hippopotamus antiquus
Hippopotamus antiquus is an extinct species of Hippopotamus that ranged across Europe during the Early and Middle Pleistocene.
| Hippopotamus antiquus Temporal range: Early Pleistocene-Middle Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
| Hippopotamus antiquus in Florence Palaeontology museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Hippopotamidae |
| Genus: | Hippopotamus |
| Species: | †H. antiquus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Hippopotamus antiquus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Chronology
In Italy, the first appearance of the taxon is during the late Early Pleistocene, around 1.2 Ma, remains from Coste San Giacomo, suggested to date to around 2 Ma, have an uncertain stratigraphic context.[2] H. antiquus first became widespread north of the Alps around 1.1 to 1 million years ago. The youngest confirmed remains of the taxon date to MIS 15, (621–563,000 years ago), but there are possibly later records dating to MIS 11 (424,000 to 374,000 years ago). Later records of Hippopotamus in Europe beginning in MIS 13 (~524,000-474,000 years ago), are believed to belong to the modern hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius).[3]
Biology
H. antiquus ranged from the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles to the Rhine River to Greece.[4][5] Their distribution was strongly controlled by temperature, with the species only extending to the northern parts of Europe during warmer interglacial intervals.[3]
At an average weight of 3200 kg (7040 lb), Hippopotamus antiquus was larger than the modern common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), but smaller than Hippopotamus gorgops.[6] Hippopotamus antiquus has been suggested to have been more aquatically adapted than Hippopotamus amphibius, with the skull having more elevated eyesockets and the feet having shorter metapodial bones than H. amphibius. An analysis of nitrogen isotopes suggests that H. antiquus preferred aquatic plants, in contrast to modern H. amphibius, which prefers terrestrial grasses.[3][7]
The Cretan dwarf hippopotamus (H. creutzburgi) is believed to have evolved from H. antiquus through the process of insular dwarfism on the island of Crete.
References
- ^ Desmarest, A.G., 1822. Mammalogie ou description des espèces de mammifères. Mme Veuve Agasse imprimeur édit., Paris, 2ème part., pp.277-555.
- ^ Pandolfi, Luca; Petronio, Carmelo (2015-11-01). "Short remarks on the occurrences of continental Hippopotamus (Mammalia, Hippopotamidae) in Italy" (PDF). Geologia Croatica. 68 (3). doi:10.4154/gc.2015.24. ISSN 1330-030X.[dead link]
- ^ a b c Adams, Neil F.; Candy, Ian; Schreve, Danielle C. (2022). "An Early Pleistocene hippopotamus from Westbury Cave, Somerset, England: support for a previously unrecognized temperate interval in the British Quaternary record". Journal of Quaternary Science. 37: 28–41. Bibcode:2022JQS....37...28A. doi:10.1002/jqs.3375. ISSN 1099-1417. S2CID 244179438.
- ^ van Kolfschoten, Th. (2000). (PDF). Netherlands Journal of Geosciences. 79 (2/3): 269–281. doi:10.1017/S0016774600021752. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24.
- ^ "150 Years of Neanderthal Discoveries; Early Europeans - Continuity & Discontinuity," ed. von Koenigswald, Wighart and Thomas Litt, TERRA NOSTRA 2006/2 University of Bonn, in PDF 2007-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Petronio, C. (1995): Note on the taxonomy of Pleistocene hippopotamuses. Ibex 3: 53-55. PDF fulltext 2008-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Palmqvist, P.; Perez-Claros, J. A.; Janis, C. M.; Figueirido, B.; Torregrosa, V.; Grocke, D. R. (2008-11-01). "Biogeochemical and Ecomorphological Inferences On Prey Selection and Resource Partitioning Among Mammalian Carnivores In An Early Pleistocene Community". PALAIOS. 23 (11): 724–737. Bibcode:2008Palai..23..724P. doi:10.2110/palo.2007.p07-073r. ISSN 0883-1351. S2CID 85577791.