Hippopotamus amphibius

Linnaeus, 1758

Common Hippopotamus

Figure 1. Photograph by B. Stanley.

Figure 2. FMNH 34928. Photograph by R. Banasiak.

Type Description:

Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1:74.

Type Locality:

'Habitat in Nilo & Bambolo Africae et ad ostia fluviorum Asiae'; restricted to River Nile (Thomas, 1911a:155) in Egypt (G. M. Allen, 1939:457).

Measurements:

Head and body: 2900-5050 mm

Tail length: 400 mm

Weight: 655-3200 kg

Key Reference:

1. Kingdon, J. 1989. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Large Mammals). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 3B:256-277.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 325-326.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1067-1071.