Hippopotamus melitensis

Short description: Extinct species of mammal

Hippopotamus melitensis

Temporal range: Pleistocene

Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Mammalia
Order:  | Artiodactyla
Family:  | Hippopotamidae
Genus:  | Hippopotamus
Species:  |

†H. melitensis

Binomial name
†Hippopotamus melitensis

Major, 1902[1]

Hippopotamus melitensis is an extinct hippopotamus from Malta. It lived during Middle-Late Pleistocene. It probably descended from Hippopotamus pentlandi from Sicily,[2] which in turn probably descended from the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius).[3] Like Hippopotamus pentlandi, Hippopotamus melitensis is substantially smaller in size than H. amphibius as a result of insular dwarfism, having an estimated mass of approximately 900 kg, which is smaller than the 1100 kg estimated for H. pentlandi. The diet of H. melitensis is suggested to have been more generalist than Hippopotamus amphibius (which is predominantly a grazer), likely as a result of limited resource diversity and lack of competition, as the only other large herbivore on the island was the dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis.[2] The majority of findings of this species are from Għar Dalam, a cave on Malta famous for its Pleistocene fossil deposits.

## See also

* Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus
* Cretan dwarf hippopotamus

## References

1. ↑ Major, C.I.F., 1902. Some account of a nearly complete skeleton of Hippopotamus madagascariensis, Guldb., from Sirabé, Madagascar, obtained in 1895. Geol. Mag. 1902 pp.193-199.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bethune, Elehna; Kaiser, Thomas M.; Schulz-Kornas, Ellen; Winkler, Daniela E. (November 2019). "Multiproxy dietary trait reconstruction in Pleistocene Hippopotamidae from the Mediterranean islands" (in en). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 533: 109210. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.05.032.
3. ↑ Martino, R.; Pandolfi, L. (2022-07-03). "The Quaternary Hippopotamus records from Italy" (in en). Historical Biology 34 (7): 1146–1156. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.1965138. ISSN 0891-2963.

Wikidata ☰ Q2715773 entry

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