Kingdom animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Artiodactyla
Family Hippopotamid
Gender hexaprotodon
SpeciesChoeropsis liberiensis
Hippos are animals of restricted occurrence to the African continent. They belong to the Family Hippopotamidae, with only two species currently alive. They have hooves and an even number of toes. In this way, they are classified in the order of the artiodactyls.
In addition to the hippos that we usually find in zoos, the Hippopotamus amphibius, there are the pygmy hippos, the Choeropsis liberiensis. As the name suggests, they are much smaller than the common hippos, reaching about a meter and a half in length, approximately one meter in height and weight that can reach 300 kilos.
Found in West Africa, they have herbivorous habits and predominantly nocturnal activity, like the hippos of the other species. But unlike them, they tend to be lonely, and more earthly.
Its legs are elongated, its head is round, and its eyes are not bulging and are more on the sides compared to those of common hippos. Like them, they secrete substances that protect their skin from the sun, but their skin is softer.
With a life expectancy of around 40 years, they reach sexual maturity at five. The gestation period is approximately two hundred days, giving rise to a single offspring.
Due to habitat destruction and illegal hunting, its population has been declining. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), in 2008, started to consider that this species is in danger.
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By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
Brazil School Team
Vertebrates -Animals -Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
ARAGUAIA, Mariana. "Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis)"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/animais/hipopotamopigmeu-choeropsis-liberiensis.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
