Hexaprotodon

Hexaprotodon
Temporal range: Latest Miocene to Late Pleistocene
Hexaprotodon sivalensis skull elements
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Hippopotamidae
Subfamily: Hippopotaminae
Genus: Hexaprotodon
Falconer & Cautley, 1836
Type species
Hexaprotodon sivalensis
Species

See text

Synonyms

Hexoprotodon [sic]

Hexaprotodon is an extinct genus of hippopotamid known from Asia and possibly Africa and Europe. The genus name Hexaprotodon comes from Ancient Greek ἑξα- (hexa-), meaning "six", πρῶτος (prôtos), meaning "first", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth", therefore, "six front-teeth" as some of the fossil forms have three pairs of incisors. The pygmy hippopotamus was historically placed in the genus, but today is generally placed in its own genus. The core Asian members of the genus ranged from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, and are thought to have had an aquatic ecology similar to that of the living common hippopotamus. The last members of the genus became extinct during the Late Pleistocene, perhaps as recently as 15,000 years ago.