Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus
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| Cyprus Dwarf Hippo Fossil range: Pleistocene to Holocene |
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| Hippopotamus minor Desmarest, 1822[1] |
The Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus or Cypriot Pygmy Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus minor) is an extinct species of hippo that inhabited the island of Cyprus until the early Holocene.
The 200 kilogram (440 lbs) Cyprus Dwarf Hippo was roughly the same size as the extant pygmy hippopotamus. Unlike the modern pygmy hippo, it is thought that the Cyprus Dwarf became small through the process of insular dwarfism which is caused by gene pools limited to a small environment. This same process is believed to cause the dwarfism found in some dwarf elephants, the Pygmy Mammoth, and Homo floresiensis. The animal is estimated to have measured 76 centimetres tall and 121 centimetres long.[2]
At the time of its extinction between 11,000 and 9,000 years ago, the Cyprus Dwarf Hippo was the largest animal on the island of Cyprus. The herbivorous Cyprus Dwarf Hippo had no natural predators. [3]
Excavation sites on Cyprus, particularly Aetokremnos, provide evidence that the Cyprus Dwarf Hippo may have encountered and been driven to extinction by the early human residents of Cyprus.[4]
A similar species of hippo, the Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus creutzburgi) existed on the island of Crete, but became extinct during the Pleistocene.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ · Desmarest, A.G., 1822. Mammalogie ou description des espèces de mammifères. Mme Veuve Agasse imprimeur édit., Paris, 2ème part., pp.277-555.
- ^ Hadjicostis, Menelaos. "Dwarf Hippo Fossils Found on Cyprus", Fox Television, The Associated Press, Thursday, 06 Dec 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ Burness, Gary P. and Jared Diamond, and Timothy Flannery, "Dinosaurs, dragons, and dwarfs: The evolution of maximal body size," Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Nov 27 In PDF
- ^ The earliest prehistory of Cyprus from colonization to exploitation, ed. Swiny, Stuart, American Schools of Oriental Research, 2001, In PDF
