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Hippopotamus antiquus

Hippopotamus antiquus is an extinct species of the genus Hippopotamus that ranged across Europe during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. It was considerably larger than the living hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius).

Hippopotamus antiquus
Temporal range: Early Pleistocene-Middle Pleistocene 2.1–0.4 Ma
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Hippopotamus antiquus in Florence Palaeontology museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Hippopotamidae
Genus: Hippopotamus
Species:
†H. antiquus
Binomial name
†Hippopotamus antiquus
Synonyms
  • Hippopotamus amphibius antiquus
  • Hippopotamus georgicus
  • Hippopotamus major
  • Hippopotamus tiberinus

Description

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Skull in Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris

Based on the transverse diameter of its limbs, H. antiquus has been estimated to weigh 3,500–4,200 kilograms (7,700–9,300 lb).[2] Volumetric analysis (which is generally considered more accurate) suggests a body mass of around 3,174 kilograms (6,997 lb) for a specimen on display at the University of Florence, around double the weight of the average specimen of the living common hippopotamus (H. amphibius).[3] The species exhibited size variability, with individuals from the late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene being smaller on average than those from earlier in the Early Pleistocene.[4] In comparison to modern Hippopotamus amphibius, the skull is more slender and elongate, but with a shorter neurocranium.[5] 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.[6][7]

Distribution

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H. antiquus ranged across Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula and the Italian Peninsula, to the British Isles to the Rhine River to Greece.[8][9] The easternmost record of the species is from the Caucasus, at the Akhalkalaki site in Georgia.[10] Remains possibly attributable to the species are also known from the Ubeidiya site in Israel,[11] though other authors assign these remains to the species H. behemoth.[10] Their distribution was strongly controlled by temperature, with the species only extending to the northern parts of Europe during warmer interglacial intervals.[6]

Evolution

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H. antiquus is suggested to be closely related to the African species Hippopotamus gorgops, and may be a descendant of that species.[11] The oldest records of H. antiquus date to the Early Pleistocene, around 2.1-2 million years ago, which are found in Italy and Greece.[12] The earliest specimens in the Iberian Peninsula date to around 1.7 million years ago.[13] H. antiquus first became widespread north of the Alps around 1.1 to 1 million years ago, as evidenced from specimens found dating to this time in France, Germany, the Netherlands and southern Britain.[6] The youngest remains of the species are from Condeixa in Portugal, suggested to date to approximately 400,000 years ago,[11] and Malagrotta in central Italy, dating to 450-380,000 years ago.[14] Later records of the genus Hippopotamus in Europe are believed to belong to the modern hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius).[6] The earliest generally accepted record of H. amphibius in Europe is around 500,000 years old, and it is therefore possible that H. antiquus and H. amphibius coexisted in Europe from 500-400,000 years ago, though this is uncertain.[10][15]

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.[16] The extinct Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus (H. minor) may also derive from H. antiquus, but this is uncertain.[17]

Relationship with humans

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Remains of the species with cut marks suggestive of butchery by archaic humans have been reported from several sites in Spain, dating to the late Early Pleistocene, including Barranco León (~1.4 Ma), Fuente Nueva 3 (~1.3 Ma), and Vallparadís (~1.0 Ma), At the Marathousa 2 site in Greece, thought to date to the Middle Pleistocene around 500-400,000 years ago, remains of a juvenile Hippopotamus antiquus individual with cut marks were found associated with a lithic artefact. It is unclear whether the remains at these sites were hunted or scavenged. It is unlikely that archaic humans regularly hunted healthy adult hippopotamuses due to their dangerousness.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Desmarest, A.G., 1822. Mammalogie ou description des espèces de mammifères. Mme Veuve Agasse imprimeur édit., Paris, 2ème part., pp.277-555.
  2. ^ Martínez-Navarro, Bienvenido (2010), Fleagle, John G.; Shea, John J.; Grine, Frederick E.; Baden, Andrea L. (eds.), "Early Pleistocene Faunas of Eurasia and Hominin Dispersals", Out of Africa I, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 207–224, doi:10.1007/978-90-481-9036-2_13, ISBN 978-90-481-9035-5, retrieved 2023-08-01
  3. ^ Romano, Marco; Manucci, Fabio; Bellucci, Luca (2024-07-30). "Body mass estimate and in-vivo reconstruction of Hippopotamus antiquus from Figline, Upper Valdarno (Tuscany)". Historical Biology: 1–12. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2380358. ISSN 0891-2963.
  4. ^ Mazza, Paul P. A.; Bertini, Adele (January 2013). "Were Pleistocene hippopotamuses exposed to climate-driven body size changes?". Boreas. 42 (1): 194–209. Bibcode:2013Borea..42..194M. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3885.2012.00285.x. ISSN 0300-9483.
  5. ^ Martino, R.; Pandolfi, L. (2022-07-03). "The Quaternary Hippopotamus records from Italy". Historical Biology. 34 (7): 1146–1156. Bibcode:2022HBio...34.1146M. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.1965138. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 239713930.
  6. ^ a b c d 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 (1): 28–41. Bibcode:2022JQS....37...28A. doi:10.1002/jqs.3375. ISSN 1099-1417. S2CID 244179438.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ van Kolfschoten, Th. (2000). "The Eemian mammal fauna of central Europe" (PDF). Netherlands Journal of Geosciences. 79 (2/3): 269–281. Bibcode:2000NJGeo..79..269V. doi:10.1017/S0016774600021752. S2CID 234349144. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24.
  9. ^ "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 Archived 2007-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ a b c Fidalgo, D.; Rosas, A.; Madurell-Malapeira, J.; Pineda, A.; Huguet, R.; García-Tabernero, A.; Cáceres, I.; Ollé, A.; Vallverdú, J.; Saladie, P. (May 2023). "A review on the Pleistocene occurrences and palaeobiology of Hippopotamus antiquus based on the record from the Barranc de la Boella Section (Francolí Basin, NE Iberia)". Quaternary Science Reviews. 307: 108034. Bibcode:2023QSRv..30708034F. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108034. hdl:10261/308555.
  11. ^ a b c Martino, Roberta; Ríos, Maria Ibanez; Mateus, Octavio; Pandolfi, Luca (December 2022). "Taxonomy, chronology, and dispersal patterns of Western European Quaternary hippopotamuses: New insight from Portuguese fossil material". Quaternary International. 674–675: 121–137. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2022.12.010. S2CID 255029640.
  12. ^ Fidalgo, D.; Rosas, A.; Madurell-Malapeira, J.; Pineda, A.; Huguet, R.; García-Tabernero, A.; Cáceres, I.; Ollé, A.; Vallverdú, J.; Saladie, P. (May 2023). "A review on the Pleistocene occurrences and palaeobiology of Hippopotamus antiquus based on the record from the Barranc de la Boella Section (Francolí Basin, NE Iberia)". Quaternary Science Reviews. 307: 108034. Bibcode:2023QSRv..30708034F. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108034. hdl:10261/308555.
  13. ^ Fidalgo, Darío; Madurell-Malapeira, Joan; Martino, Roberta; Pandolfi, Luca; Rosas, Antonio (2024-01-10). "An Updated Review of The Quaternary Hippopotamus Fossil Records from the Iberian Peninsula". Quaternary. 7 (1): 4. doi:10.3390/quat7010004. hdl:10261/345195. ISSN 2571-550X.
  14. ^ Martino, Roberta; Marra, Fabrizio; Ríos, María; Pandolfi, Luca (2024-02-29). "The Middle Pleistocene Hippopotamus from Malagrotta (Latium, Italy): New Data and Future Perspectives". Quaternary. 7 (1): 13. doi:10.3390/quat7010013. hdl:10362/172339. ISSN 2571-550X.
  15. ^ Mecozzi, Beniamino; Iannucci, Alessio; Mancini, Marco; Tentori, Daniel; Cavasinni, Chiara; Conti, Jacopo; Messina, Mattia Yuri; Sarra, Alex; Sardella, Raffaele (2023-11-22). Carnevale, Giorgio (ed.). "Reinforcing the idea of an early dispersal of Hippopotamus amphibius in Europe: Restoration and multidisciplinary study of the skull from the Middle Pleistocene of Cava Montanari (Rome, central Italy)". PLOS ONE. 18 (11): e0293405. Bibcode:2023PLoSO..1893405M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0293405. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 10664965. PMID 37992018.
  16. ^ A.C. Marra Pleistocene hippopotamuses of Mediterranean islands: looking for ancestors J.A. Alcover, P. Bover (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium “Insular Vertebrate Evolution: The Palaeontological Approach.” Monographias de la Societat d'Historia Natural de !es Balears (2005), pp. 193-204
  17. ^ Georgitsis, Michail K.; Liakopoulou, Dionysia Ε.; Theodorou, Georgios E.; Tsiolakis, Efthymios (August 2022). "Functional morphology of the hindlimb of fossilized pygmy hippopotamus from Ayia Napa (Cyprus)". Journal of Morphology. 283 (8): 1048–1079. doi:10.1002/jmor.21488. ISSN 0362-2525. PMID 35708268. S2CID 249709335.
  18. ^ Konidaris, George; Tourloukis, Vangelis; Boni, Georgia; Athanassiou, Athanassios; Giusti, Domenico; Thompson, Nicholas; Syrides, George; Panagopoulou, Eleni; Karkanas, Panagiotis; Harvati, Katerina (2023-04-27). "Marathousa 2: A New Middle Pleistocene Locality in the Megalopolis Basin (Greece) With Evidence of Hominin Exploitation of Megafauna (Hippopotamus)". PaleoAnthropology. 2023 (1): 34–55. doi:10.48738/2023.iss1.810. ISSN 1545-0031.
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