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93-707: The Armley Hippo , previously known as the Leeds Hippopotamus , is a partial skeleton of a common hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) consisting of 122 bones, of which 25 were mounted in 2008 by James Dickinson for display at Leeds City Museum in Leeds , West Yorkshire , England. The skeleton dates to the last interglacial ( Eemian ) around 130,000 to 115,000 years ago. The bones were discovered between 1851 and 1852 by workmen digging clay at Longley's brickfield in Wortley, Leeds (now Armley ). Astonished at

186-408: A British Gas depot have since been built on the site.) Alongside this skeleton were found the bones of an "aged" hippo with two young ones, an "elephant" later confirmed to be a woolly mammoth , and an aurochs : "huge bones, so large that they thought they could not be Christians' bones". Most of the smaller bones were destroyed, lost or "disregarded", before the bigger bones were exhumed. However

279-608: A gelatine coating which had been added, probably at the time of discovery. More recently, a molar sample from the skeleton was more precisely dated to 130,000–113,000 (or 130,000–117,000) years ago – during the Ipswichian interglacial period when a warm climate suited the hippopotamus. By 1878, theories that early Man co-existed with the Yorkshire hippopotamus were being confirmed. For example, at Victoria Cave, near Settle, North Yorkshire , evidence of Paleolithic Man

372-429: A European continent then connected with Africa, and across which huge extinct lions, tigers, bears, elephants, and rhinoceroses roamed and left their remains in the caves of the limestone districts and the sands and gravels of rivers when they flowed 100 ft (30 m) or more above their present level. During this period a southern fauna, even the hippopotamus, found their way as far north as Yorkshire, testifying to

465-431: A US$ 73 million exhibit to house three adult hippos, featuring a 250,000 L (55,000 imp gal; 66,000 US gal) tank. Modern hippo enclosures also have a complex filtration system for the animal's waste, an underwater viewing area for the visitors, and glass that may be up to 9 cm (3.5 in) thick and capable of holding water under pressures of 31 kPa (4.5 psi). In Egyptian mythology ,

558-644: A ballerina hippo dancing to the opera La Gioconda . The film Hugo the Hippo is set in Tanzania and involves the title character trying to escape being slaughtered with the help of local children. The Madagascar films feature a hippo named Gloria . Hippos even inspired a popular board game, Hungry Hungry Hippos . Alluvium The present consensus is that "alluvium" refers to loose sediments of all types deposited by running water in floodplains or in alluvial fans or related landforms . However,

651-622: A factor in their eventual extinction. Isolated individual Malagasy hippos may have survived in remote pockets; in 1976, villagers described a living animal called the kilopilopitsofy , which may have been a Malagasy hippo. Hippopotamus gorgops from the Early Pleistocene to the early Middle Pleistocene of Africa and West Asia grew considerably larger than the living hippopotamus, with an estimated body mass of over 4,000 kg (8,800 lb). Hippopotamus antiquus ranged throughout Europe, extending as far north as Britain during

744-486: A glimpse into a bygone age and brings home just how much history we have all around us. In May 2022, the skull of another ancient hippopotamus, donated to Leeds Museum from Salford Museum in 1982, was the subject of a BBC news article. Following preparations for its display, it was discovered that one of the teeth had gone missing amongst specimens held in Leeds City Museum. The skull is to be displayed alongside

837-459: A great distance across South Africa . The hippo is considered to be extremely aggressive and has frequently been reported charging and attacking boats. Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. In one 2014 case in Niger , a boat was capsized by a hippo and 13 people were killed. Hippos will often raid farm crops if

930-425: A high-pitched squeal followed by a deeper, resonant call. The animals can recognise the calls of other individuals. Hippos are more likely to react to the wheeze honks of strangers than to those they are more familiar with. When threatened or alarmed, they produce exhalations, and fighting bulls will bellow loudly. Hippos are recorded to produce clicks underwater which may have echolocative properties. They have

1023-524: A long snout. Their skeletal structures are graviportal , adapted to carrying their enormous weight, and their dense bones and low centre of gravity allows them to sink and move along the bottom of the water. Hippopotamuses have small legs (relative to other megafauna ) because the water in which they live reduces the weight burden. The toes are webbed and the pelvis rests at an angle of 45 degrees. Though chubby-looking, hippos have little fat. The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are placed high on

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1116-752: A mount, in various museum locations in Leeds since it was discovered. In the 19th century, it was the subject of lectures and papers and is still sometimes the subject of newspaper articles. Today it is often used as an educational tool. "For generations it’s been the city’s most famous prehistoric peculiarity". The "massive" fossil bones of the Armley Hippo, previously known as the Leeds Hippopotamus, were discovered in 1851 by Longley's Brickfield workmen digging clay in Wortley (now Armley ), West Riding of Yorkshire, England. (The Armley Gyratory and

1209-572: A number of times, it is possible that bones from the same hippopotamus were discovered over two years. The Armley Hippo caught the public imagination. In 1924, Professor Percy Fry Kendall described the ice age in Yorkshire as "a time when Yorkshire hills and dales were peopled with fierce wild beasts – when the hippopotamus wallowed in the river swamps of the Aire , the Ouse and the Ribble ". In 2008

1302-422: A small area and that some were still articulated. He concluded that the bodies had not travelled far after death. A workman told T. P. Teale, who went to the site with Denny, that querns had been found in an adjoining field at about the same level. He wrote a paper suggesting that the animals were alive after the last glaciation and possibly during Roman times. Historically the bones were difficult to date due to

1395-412: A talk which referenced the Armley Hippo, whose bones he had brought with him. [Charlesworth] now had the opportunity of exhibiting these vary valuable and remarkable remains. Considering the large number of bones found, and the unusually perfect state in which they had been disinterred, this discovery Mr Charlesworth considered to be the most remarkable of the kind that had ever occurred in this country ...

1488-432: A variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. Hippos spend most of the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave the water to forage on land. A hippo will travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in

1581-442: A week of educational events for children on the subject of the Armley Hippo. A central feature in 2019 was an animation created from a story and drawings by school-children Lochan Chakrabarti and Holly Reeve; it was premiered on Millennium Square, Leeds in front of the museum. Other events included "a display of all the competition entries, hippo crafts and a CSI-style event exploring a fictitious animal crime scene". A mural showing

1674-861: Is Lu the Hippo, from the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park . As of 2024, he is 64 years old. Hippopotamus amphibius arrived in Europe around 560–460,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene. The distribution of Hippopotamus amphibius in Europe during the Pleistocene was largely confined to Southern Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and Greece, but extended into northwestern Europe, including Great Britain (as far north as North Yorkshire ),

1767-408: Is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa . It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae , the other being the pygmy hippopotamus ( Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis ). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" ( ἱπποπόταμος ). After elephants and rhinoceroses , the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal . It

1860-618: Is also the largest extant land artiodactyl . Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans ( whales , dolphins , porpoises , etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) for bulls (males) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) for cows (females). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it

1953-611: Is an example of mutualism , in which the hippo benefits from the cleaning while the fish receive food. Hippo defecation creates allochthonous deposits of organic matter along the river beds. These deposits have an unclear ecological function. A 2015 study concluded hippo dung provides nutrients from terrestrial material for fish and aquatic invertebrates, while a 2018 study found that their dung can be toxic to aquatic life in large quantities, due to absorption of dissolved oxygen in water bodies. The parasitic monogenean flatworm Oculotrema hippopotami infests hippopotamus eyes, mainly

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2046-524: Is around 1,480 kg (3,260 lb) for bulls and 1,365 kg (3,009 lb) for cows. Exceptionally large males have been recorded reaching 2,660 kg (5,860 lb). Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, while females reach maximum weight at around age 25. It is 2.90 to 5.05 m (9 ft 6 in to 16 ft 7 in) long, including a tail of about 35 to 56 cm (14 to 22 in) in length and 1.30 to 1.65 m (4 ft 3 in to 5 ft 5 in) tall at

2139-584: Is attributed to the disruptions caused by the Second Congo War . The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, underpaid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups. Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain. As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to better protection from park rangers, who have worked with local fishermen. The sale of hippo meat

2232-411: Is capable of running 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances. Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in

2325-473: Is common among small mammals such as rodents). Calves no longer need to suckle when they are a year old. Hippos coexist alongside a variety of large predators in their habitats. Nile crocodiles , lions , and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos. Beyond these, adult hippos are not usually preyed upon by other animals due to their aggression and size. Cases where large lion prides have successfully preyed on adult hippos have been reported, but it

2418-809: Is generally rare. Lions occasionally prey on adults at Gorongosa National Park and calves are sometimes taken at Virunga. Crocodiles are frequent targets of hippo aggression, probably because they often inhabit the same riparian habitats; crocodiles may be either aggressively displaced or killed by hippos. In turn, very large Nile crocodiles have been observed preying occasionally on calves, "half-grown" hippos, and possibly also adult female hippos. Groups of crocodiles have also been observed finishing off still-living male hippos that were previously injured in mating battles with other males. Hippos occasionally visit cleaning stations in order to be cleaned of parasites by certain species of fishes. They signal their readiness for this service by opening their mouths wide. This

2511-487: Is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track. Hippo meat is highly valued in some areas of central Africa and the teeth may be used as a replacement for elephant ivory. A population of hippos exists in Colombia , descended from captive individuals that escaped from Pablo Escobar 's estate after his death in 1993. Their numbers grew to 100 by the 2020s and ecologists believe

2604-404: Is mostly purplish-grey or blue-black, but brownish-pink on the underside and around the eyes and ears. Their skin secretes a natural, red-coloured sunscreen substance that is sometimes referred to as "blood sweat" but is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion is initially colourless and turns red-orange within minutes, eventually becoming brown. Two highly acidic pigments have been identified in

2697-492: Is powered by huge masseter and digastric muscles which give them large, droopy cheeks. The jaw hinge allows the animal to open its mouth at almost 180°. A folded orbicularis oris muscle allows the hippo to attain an extreme gape without tearing any tissue. On the lower jaw, the incisors and canines grow continuously, the former reaching 40 cm (16 in), while the latter can grow to up to 50 cm (20 in). The lower canines are sharpened through contact with

2790-626: Is the genus Kenyapotamus , which lived in Africa from 15 to 9 million years ago . Hippopotamid species would spread across Africa and Eurasia, including the modern pygmy hippo. From 7.5 to 1.8 million years ago , a possible ancestor to the modern hippo, Archaeopotamus , lived in Africa and the Middle East. The oldest records of the genus Hippopotamus date to the Pliocene (5.3–2.6 million years ago). The oldest unambiguous records of

2883-734: Is typically 40 to 50 years. Donna the Hippo was one of the oldest living hippos in captivity. She lived at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana , in the US until her death in 2012 at the age of 61. The oldest hippo ever recorded was called Bertha; she had lived in the Manila Zoo in the Philippines since it first opened in 1959. When she died in 2017, her age was estimated to be 65. The oldest living hippopotamus in captivity

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2976-600: The Bouri Formation and dated to around 160,000 years ago. 4,000–5,000 year art showing hippos being hunted have been found in the Tassili n'Ajjer Mountains of the central Sahara near Djanet . The ancient Egyptians recognised the hippo as ferocious, and representations on the tombs of nobles show humans hunting them. The hippo was also known to the Greeks and Romans . The Greek historian Herodotus described

3069-559: The Early and Middle Pleistocene epochs, before being replaced by the modern H. amphibius in Europe during the latter part of the Middle Pleistocene. The Pleistocene also saw a number of dwarf species evolve on several Mediterranean islands, including Crete ( Hippopotamus creutzburgi ), Cyprus (the Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus , Hippopotamus minor ), Malta ( Hippopotamus melitensis ), and Sicily ( Hippopotamus pentlandi ). Of these,

3162-748: The IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable , with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals. The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s. This decline

3255-474: The National Curriculum guidelines, workshops and visits to Leeds City Museum were included in the project. The Armley Hippo was celebrated in the I Love West Leeds Festival of 3–25 July 2010. Armley Primary School children attended the festival, and the organisers made "hundreds of plaster hippos ... inviting local people to have a go at decorating them". In 2017 and 2019 Leeds City Museum held

3348-588: The cavern at Kirkdale with its numerous remains of huge Hyenas , was well known ... and at the farm called Bielbeck, near Market Weighton , was another celebrated locality for fossil bones of the extinct Elephant and other large quadrupeds ... The Museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society possessed large collections from both these localities, but no remains of the Hippopotamus were found at Beil-beck Farm, and very few in

3441-436: The fossil record , show their closest living relatives are cetaceans ( whales , dolphins , and porpoises ). The common ancestor of hippos and whales branched off from Ruminantia and the rest of the even-toed ungulates; the cetacean and hippo lineages split soon afterwards.   Tylopoda   Suina        Ruminantia   Hippopotamidae   Cetacea The most recent theory of

3534-758: The wet season . Male hippos always have mobile spermatozoa and can breed year-round. After becoming pregnant, a female hippo will typically not begin ovulation again for 17 months. Hippos mate in the water, with the cow remaining under the surface, her head emerging periodically to draw breath. Cows give birth in seclusion and return within 10 to 14 days. Calves are born on land or shallow water weighing on average 50 kg (110 lb) and at an average length of around 127 cm (50 in). The female lies on her side when nursing, which can occur underwater or on land. The young are carried on their mothers' backs in deep water. Mother hippos are very protective of their young, not allowing others to get too close. One cow

3627-500: The Armley Hippo. The discovery of the bones of four hippopotami is marked at some distance from the original site, on a pavement plaque outside 81 Town Street, Armley. The discovery date of 1852 (when bones of two hippopotami were found) given there might appear to have been confused with a similar discovery made at the same brickfield site in 1851 (when the bones of four hippopotami were found), so that it says "1852" instead of "1851". However, because museum curator Henry Denny dug there

3720-489: The Congo , Uganda , Tanzania , and Kenya , north through to Ethiopia , Somalia , and Sudan , west to The Gambia , and south to South Africa . Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the Pleistocene , attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across

3813-458: The Cyprus dwarf hippo survived until the end of the Pleistocene or early Holocene. Evidence from the archaeological site Aetokremnos continues to cause debate on whether or not the species was driven to extinction or even encountered by humans. The hippopotamus is a megaherbivore and is exceeded in size among land animals only by elephants and some rhinoceros species. The mean adult weight

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3906-787: The Elder , in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome ; the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end of the 19th century. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern Democratic Republic of

3999-780: The Netherlands, and western Germany during interglacial periods, such as the Last Interglacial (130–115,000 years ago). The youngest records of the species in Europe are from the Late Pleistocene of Greece, dating to around 40–30,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant , dating to less than 3,000 years ago. The species was common in Egypt 's Nile region during antiquity , but it has since been driven out. According to Pliny

4092-450: The UK, it being more common to find just a few bones. The Armley Hippo "is the most northerly specimen of its kind found in the UK". "For generations it’s been the city’s most famous prehistoric peculiarity". For a long time there was some question as to the dating of the bones: There have always been concerns about the dating of these bones. Denny recorded that they were all discovered within

4185-607: The UK. In 1853 Denny read a paper on the hippopotamus discovery at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Hull. Besides the head, only the left half of the skeleton, consisting of 25 bones, has been mounted for museum display. The remainder of the Armley Hippo's 122 bones are kept in the museum's archives. It is rare to find such a large proportion of an ancient hippopotamus skeleton in

4278-687: The Yoruba. Hippo masks were also used in Nyau funerary rituals of the Chewa of Southern Africa. According to Robert Baden-Powell , Zulu warriors referred to hippos in war chants. The Behemoth from the Book of Job , 40:15–24 is thought to be based on the hippo. Hippos have been the subjects of various African folktales . According to a San story, when the Creator assigned each animal its place in nature,

4371-414: The animal's skin from cracking if it stays out of water too long. The testes of the males do not fully descend and a scrotum is not present. In addition, the penis retracts into the body when not erect . The genitals of the female hippos are unusual in that the vagina is ridged and the vulval vestibule has two large, protruding diverticula . Both of these have an unknown function. A hippo's lifespan

4464-466: The bones of two more hippopotami were found there. The discovery impressed the antiquarians of the Victorian era , because it was rare to find remains of the hippopotamus so far north in the world, and because Leeds Museum was "probably now in possession of the most extensive series of hippopotamic remains of any provincial museum in the kingdom". It has been suggested that, at a time when the climate

4557-540: The cavern at Kirkdale. Indeed, so rare are the remains of this animal in the fossil state, that the bones found at Leeds probably equal in number the united collections of all the other Museums in the kingdom. Theories developed as to how the Armley Hippo reached Yorkshire. In 1907 John Booth MSA FSSc, writing in the Shipley Times , described the idea that ...: ... the British Islands [were once] part of

4650-425: The completely aquatic cetaceans . The other branch became the anthracotheres , a large family of four-legged beasts, the earliest of which in the late Eocene would have resembled skinny hippos with comparatively smaller, narrower heads. All branches of the anthracotheres, except that which evolved into Hippopotamidae , became extinct during the Pliocene , leaving no descendants. A rough evolutionary lineage of

4743-605: The continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water. Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and poaching . The species is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities. As of 2017,

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4836-583: The county (before it was diverted into various channels by the hand of man), together with the animals and trees which happened to impede its progress, or were washed from its banks. This has been satisfactorily shown by the bones of deer, oxen &c., which have from time to time been exhumed, associated with alluvia , gravel , boulders and sand . On 3 May 1854, at a meeting of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Club in York , Edward Charlesworth gave

4929-613: The described morphological differences were small enough that they could have resulted from simple variation in nonrepresentative samples. A study examining mitochondrial DNA from skin biopsies taken from 13 sampling locations found "low, but significant, genetic differentiation" among H. a. amphibius , H. a. capensis , and H. a. kiboko . Neither H. a. tschadensis nor H. a. constrictus have been tested. Until 1909, naturalists classified hippos together with pigs based on molar patterns. Several lines of evidence, first from blood proteins, then from molecular systematics , DNA and

5022-443: The existence of great rivers flowing from the south across this Quaternary continent. The bones were accessioned in 1851 (first find) and 1852 (second find). Henry Denny "gathered numerous bones and teeth which enabled him to identify" the Armley Hippo skeleton as an example of the subspecies known as the great northern hippopotamus , or Hippopotamus amphibius , which "flourished over 100,000 years ago" and has long been extinct in

5115-684: The geography department of the University of Leeds organised the Leeds Hippo Project for schoolchildren on the theme of the Armley Hippo (under its previous name, Leeds Hippopotamus or Leeds Hippo). Dr Jon Barber said, "We aim to use the bones to engage pupils and families with the University and the museum". The project involved the Royal Armouries, Leeds , Leeds City Museum and four local primary schools. Teaching within

5208-464: The god Set takes the form of a red hippopotamus and fights Horus for control of the land, but is defeated. The goddess Tawaret is depicted as a pregnant woman with a hippo head, representing fierce maternal love. The Ijaw people of the Niger Delta wore masks of aquatic animals like the hippo when practising their water spirit cults, and hippo ivory was used in the divination rituals of

5301-604: The ground) when they move fast enough. Hippos are reported to reach 30 km/h (19 mph) but this has not been confirmed. They are incapable of jumping but can walk up steep banks. The hippopotamus sleeps with both hemispheres of the brain resting, as in all land mammals, and usually sleeps on land or in water with the nostrils exposed. Despite this, it may be capable of sleeping while submerged, intermittently surfacing to breathe without waking. They appear to transition between different phases of sleep more quickly than other mammals. Because of their size and their habit of taking

5394-643: The hippo can thus be traced from Eocene and Oligocene species: from Anthracotherium and Elomeryx to the Miocene species Merycopotamus and Libycosaurus and finally the very latest anthracotheres in the Pliocene . These groups lived across Eurasia and Africa. The discovery of Epirigenys in East Africa, which was likely a descent of Asian anthracotheres and a sister taxon to Hippopotamidae, suggests that hippo ancestors entered Africa from Asia around 35 million years ago . An early hippopotamid

5487-745: The hippo had to jump into a nearby pool. The hippo lost most of his hair and was too embarrassed to leave the water. Hippopotamuses were rarely depicted in European art during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, due to less access to specimens by Europeans. One notable exception is Peter Paul Rubens ' The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616). Ever since Obaysch inspired the "Hippopotamus Polka", hippos have been popular animals in Western culture for their rotund appearance, which many consider comical. The Disney film Fantasia featured

5580-584: The hippo in The Histories (written circa 440 BC) and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote about the hippo in his encyclopedia Naturalis Historia (written circa 77 AD). The Yoruba people called the hippo erinmi , which means "elephant of the water". Some individual hippos have achieved international fame. Huberta became a celebrity during the Great Depression for trekking

5673-485: The hippo was created in Armley Town Street in 2019. [REDACTED] Media related to Armley Hippo at Wikimedia Commons Hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) ( / ˌ h ɪ p ə ˈ p ɒ t ə m ə s / ; pl. : hippopotamuses ; often shortened to hippo ( pl. : hippos ), further qualified as the common hippopotamus , Nile hippopotamus , or river hippopotamus ,

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5766-404: The hippos wanted to live in the water, but were refused out of fear they might eat all the fish. After begging and pleading, the hippos were finally allowed to live in the water on the condition they would eat grass instead of fish, and fling their dung so it can be inspected for fish bones. In a Ndebele tale, the hippo originally had long, beautiful hair, but it was set on fire by a jealous hare and

5859-408: The late 19th century. "Colluvium" is now generally understood as sediments produced by gravity-driven transport on steep slopes. At the same time, the definition of "alluvium" has switched back to an emphasis on sediments deposited by river action. There continues to be disagreement over what other sediment deposits should be included under the term "alluvium". Most alluvium is Quaternary in age and

5952-502: The meaning of the term has varied considerably since it was first defined in the French dictionary of Antoine Furetière , posthumously published in 1690. Drawing upon concepts from Roman law , Furetière defined alluvion (the French term for alluvium) as new land formed by deposition of sediments along rivers and seas. By the 19th century, the term had come to mean recent sediments deposited by rivers on top of older diluvium , which

6045-513: The men brought the large bones to Henry Denny , the curator of the former Leeds Museum in the Philosophical Hall, Park Row, Leeds. Denny "visited the site daily and collected many specimens by his own endeavours and stimulated the men by the promise of pecuniary reward to increased care and search ". His notes included "additional documentation suggesting a Horse and Bear material". In April 1852, more hippopotamus bones were found in

6138-562: The modern H. amphibius date to the Middle Pleistocene , though there are possible Early Pleistocene records. Three species of Malagasy hippopotamus became extinct during the Holocene on Madagascar , the last of them within the past 1,000 years. The Malagasy hippos were smaller than the modern hippo, a likely result of the process of insular dwarfism . Fossil evidence indicates many Malagasy hippos were hunted by humans,

6231-461: The museum was rehoused in the extended Philosophical Hall in Park Row, it was planned to display as many different mammals as possible in the same area, to facilitate public understanding of Linnaean taxonomy . Professor Richard Owen gave the inaugural speech at the opening of this extension, in which he expounded on this plan, which included the bones of the Armley Hippo. In 2008, 25 bones of

6324-497: The nictitating membrane. It is the only monogenean species (which normally live on fish) documented to live on a mammal. Cut marks on bones of H. amphibius found at Bolomor Cave , a site in Spain preserving fossils dating from 230,000 to 120,000 years ago, provides evidence for Neanderthal butchery of hippopotamuses. The earliest evidence of modern human interaction with hippos comes from butchery cut marks on hippo bones found at

6417-580: The opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict with them on these occasions. These encounters can be fatal to either humans or hippos. According to the Ptolemaic historian Manetho , the pharaoh Menes was carried off and then killed by a hippopotamus. Hippos have long been popular zoo animals. The first record of hippos taken into captivity for display is dated to 3500 BC in Hierakonpolis, Egypt. The first zoo hippo in modern history

6510-531: The origins of Hippopotamidae suggests hippos and whales shared a common semiaquatic ancestor that branched off from other artiodactyls around 60 million years ago . This hypothesised ancestral group likely split into two branches again around 54 million years ago . One branch would evolve into cetaceans , possibly beginning about 52 million years ago , with the protowhale Pakicetus and other early whale ancestors collectively known as Archaeoceti . This group eventually underwent aquatic adaptation into

6603-567: The population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an increasing menace to humans and the environment. Attempts to control them include sterilisation and culling . Hippos are semiaquatic and require enough water to immerse in, while being close to grass. They mostly live in freshwater habitat, but can be found in estuaries . They prefer relatively still waters with gently sloping shores, though male hippos may also be found in very small numbers in more rapid waters with rocky slopes. Like most herbivores, hippos will consume

6696-610: The river ' . In English, the plural is "hippopotamuses". The modern hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus are the only living members of the family Hippopotamidae. Some taxonomists place hippos and anthracotheres in the superfamily Anthracotheroidea. Hippopotamidae are classified along with other even-toed ungulates in the order Artiodactyla . Five subspecies of hippos have been described based on morphological differences in their skulls as well as differences in geographical range: The suggested subspecies above were never widely used or validated by field biologists;

6789-419: The roof of their skulls. This allows these organs to remain above the surface while the rest of the body is submerged. The nostrils and ears can close when underwater while nictitating membranes cover the eyes. The vocal folds of the hippo are more horizontally positioned, much like baleen whales. Underneath are throat tissues, where vibrations are transmitted to produce underwater calls. The hippo's jaw

6882-404: The same brickfield: [The find] consisted of two specimens of the great northern hippopotamus in a brick earth , the property of Messrs Longley, of this town, who, in the same praiseworthy manner, presented a few bones to the museum, and which by this means is probably now in possession of the most extensive series of hippopotamic remains of any provincial museum in the kingdom. In 1852, a theory

6975-432: The same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land across which they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over prolonged periods, hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels. By defecating in the water, the animals also appear to pass on microbes from their gut, affecting the biogeochemical cycle . On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion , usually near

7068-457: The secretions; one red hipposudoric acid and one orange norhipposudoric acid, which inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria and their light-absorption profile peaks in the ultraviolet range, creating a sunscreen effect. Regardless of diet, all hippos secrete these pigments so food does not appear to be their source; rather, they may be synthesised from precursors such as the amino acid tyrosine . This natural sunscreen cannot prevent

7161-480: The shoulder, with males and females ranging 1.40 to 1.65 m (4 ft 7 in to 5 ft 5 in) and 1.30 to 1.45 m (4 ft 3 in to 4 ft 9 in) tall at the shoulder respectively. The species has a typical head–body length of 3.3–3.45 m (10.8–11.3 ft) and an average standing height of 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) at the shoulder. Hippos have barrel-shaped bodies with short tails and legs, and an hourglass-shaped skull with

7254-618: The size of the remains, they brought the larger bones to Henry Denny , the curator at the Leeds Philosophical Society's former museum in Park Row, Leeds . Denny visited the brickfield and retrieved many more bones, although some of the smaller bones had been lost. The remains discovered at the site in 1851 included parts of four hippopotami (including the Armley Hippo), a woolly mammoth and an aurochs . In 1852,

7347-404: The skeleton were taxidermy-mounted by James Dickinson , and the exhibit has since been displayed at Leeds City Museum . Brian Selby of Leeds City Council said: It’s extraordinary to think that Leeds was once home to animals like hippos and hard to imagine how different the world must have been at that time. We’re very lucky to have a specimen like this on display here in Leeds, which gives us

7440-432: The smaller upper canines. The canines and incisors are used mainly for combat instead of feeding. Hippos rely on their flattened, horny lips to grasp and pull grasses which are then ground by the molars . The hippo is considered to be a pseudoruminant ; it has a complex three-chambered stomach, but does not "chew cud ". Hippo skin is 6 cm (2.4 in) thick across much of its body with little hair. The animal

7533-467: The unique ability to hold their heads partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through both water and air; individuals respond both above and below water. Cows reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have a gestation period of eight months. A study of endocrine systems revealed cows may begin puberty at as early as three or four years. Bulls reach maturity at around 7.5 years. Both conceptions and births are highest during

7626-466: The water and grazing areas. "Yawning" serves as a threat display. When fighting, bulls use their incisors to block each other's attacks and their large canines as offensive weapons. When hippos become over-populated or a habitat shrinks, bulls sometimes attempt infanticide , but this behaviour is not common under normal conditions. The most common hippo vocalisation is the "wheeze honk", which can travel over long distances in air. This call starts as

7719-423: The water dries up. The bull has breeding access to all the cows in his territory. Younger bachelors are allowed to stay as long as they defer to him. A younger male may challenge the old bull for control of the territory. Within the pods, the hippos tend to segregate by sex and status. Bachelor males lounge near other bachelors, females with other females, and the territorial male is on his own. When hippos emerge from

7812-409: The water to graze, they do so individually. Hippos engage in "muck-spreading" which involves defecating while spinning their tails to distribute the faeces over a greater area. Muck-spreading occurs both on land and in water and its function is not well understood. It is unlikely to serve a territorial function, as the animals only establish territories in the water. They may be used as trails between

7905-537: The water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth). The Latin word hippopotamus is derived from the ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος ( hippopótamos ), from ἵππος ( híppos ) ' horse ' and ποταμός ( potamós ) ' river ' , together meaning ' horse of

7998-454: The water. Despite being semiaquatic, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer, nor can it float. It rarely enters deep water; when it does, the animal moves by bouncing off the bottom. An adult hippo surfaces every four to six minutes, while young need to breathe every two to three minutes. Hippos move on land by trotting , and limb movements do not change between speeds. They can reach an airborne stage (a stage when all limb are off

8091-728: The water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even cannibalism and predation . Hippos' stomach anatomy lacks adaptions to carnivory and meat-eating is likely caused by lack of nutrients or just an abnormal behaviour. It is challenging to study the interaction of bulls and cows because hippos are not sexually dimorphic , so cows and young bulls are almost indistinguishable in the field. Hippo pods fluctuate but can contain over 100 hippos. Although they lie close together, adults develop almost no social bonds. Males establish territories in water but not land, and these may range 250–500 m (820–1,640 ft) in lakes and 50–100 m (160–330 ft) in rivers. Territories are abandoned when

8184-528: Was Obaysch , who arrived at the London Zoo on 25 May 1850, where he attracted up to 10,000 visitors a day and inspired a popular song, the "Hippopotamus Polka". Hippos generally breed well in captivity; birth rates are lower than in the wild, but this can be attributed to zoos' desire to limit births, since hippos are relatively expensive to maintain. Starting in 2015, the Cincinnati Zoo built

8277-489: Was found alongside hippopotamus bones in the same stratum . Modern theory says that the skeleton dates to the last interglacial ( Eemian ) around 130,000 to 115,000 years ago. Hippopotamuses have been intermittently present in Britain during interglacial periods. The larger bones were originally displayed unmounted on tables, as for example in 1853 at the Leeds Philosophical Society's annual conversazione . In 1862, when

8370-541: Was proposed that the River Aire was formerly located in a channel south of its present course through Armley, because prehistoric mammal bones (such as the Armley Hippo) had been found in that ancient channel: The former course of the River Aire was much more to the south than at present; that it was probably of greater width, and conveyed a vast torrent of water which flowed from the more mountainous districts of

8463-413: Was recorded protecting a calf's carcass after it had died. Calves may be temporarily kept in nurseries , guarded by one or more adults, and will play amongst themselves. Like many other large mammals, hippos are described as K-strategists , in this case typically producing just one large, well-developed infant every couple of years (rather than many small, poorly developed young several times per year, as

8556-528: Was similar in character but interpreted as sediments deposited by Noah's flood . With the rejection by geologists of the concept of a primordial universal flood, the term "diluvium" fell into disfavor and was replaced with "older alluvium". At the same time, the term "alluvium" came to mean all sediment deposits due to running water on plains. The definition gradually expanded to include deposits in estuaries, coasts, and young rock of marine and fluvial origin. Alluvium and diluvium were grouped as colluvium in

8649-427: Was warmer and some of the continents that are now separate were joined together, the Armley Hippo or its ancestors may have travelled north along watercourses from Africa to the land that is now England, and that early humans may have co-existed with some of the hippopotami found in Yorkshire. The Armley Hippo skeleton has long captured the public imagination. It has been on display, first as a pile of bones, and then as

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