Malagasy hippopotamus | 台北市立動物園資訊網

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Extinct species of hippopotamus

Several species of Malagasy hippopotamus (also known as Malagasy pygmy hippopotamus or Madagascan pygmy hippopotamus) lived on the island of Madagascar but are now believed to be extinct. The animals were very similar to the extant hippopotamus and pygmy hippopotamus. The fossil record suggests that at least one species of hippopotamus lived until about 1,000 years ago[3] and other evidence suggests that the species may have survived until much more recently.[4] The taxonomy of these animals is not resolved and not widely studied.[5][6]

The Malagasy hippopotamus was first described in the mid-19th century by Alfred Grandidier, who unearthed nearly 50 individual hippos from a dried-up swamp at Ambolisatra[1] (thought to be Ambolisaka, near Lake Ihotry[7]), a few miles from the Mozambique Channel. As many as four different species of hippopotamus we...