Hippopotamus gorgops Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Hippopotamidae |
Genus: | Hippopotamus |
Species: | †H. gorgops |
Binomial name | |
†Hippopotamus gorgops Dietrich, 1928 | |
Hippopotamus gorgops is an extinct species of Hippopotamus known from remains found in Northern and Eastern Africa as well as the Levant. It first appeared during the late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene, and became extinct during the early Middle Pleistocene. [1]
The species was described by German scientist Wilhelm Otto Dietrich in 1928. [2] It is closely related and possibly ancestral to the European species Hippopotamus antiquus . [3]
Hippopotamus gorgops is known from remains found across Northern and Eastern Africa, spanning from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene boundary to the early Middle Pleistocene. [1] Remains assigned to H. gorgops alongside the species H. behemoth are known from the Ubeidiya locality in Israel, dating to approximately 1.6 million years ago, with some authors suggesting that H. behemoth is actually a synonym of H. gorgops, given their similar morphology. [4] [5]
H. gorgops grew substantially larger than the living hippopotamus (H. amphibius), [6] with an estimated body mass of over 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb). [7] In comparison to H. amphibius, the orbits and nasal openings are elevated higher above the rest of the skull, with the temporal fossa being shorter, resulting in the distance between the orbits and occiput being shorter. This likely meant a more forward attachment of the temporal muscles. [1] The nuchal and sagittal crests were also proportionally taller, and the palate was elongate. [8] In life H. gorgops would have likely greatly resembled H. amphibius. [1]
Isotopic analysis of specimens from the Lake Turkana Basin suggests a high consumption of C4 plants. [9] For specimens from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, dental microwear suggests a mixed feeding diet (including both browse and grass), while mesowear suggests a largely grazing diet. [10] The elevated orbits have led to suggestions of a more aquatic lifestyle than H. amphibius, [11] though its robust limbs indicate that it was probably capable of moving efficiently on land, like H. amphibius. [8]
Remains with cut or fracture marks from sites across Africa from the Early Pleistocene indicate that H. gorgops was butchered by archaic humans. [12] [13] [14] These include El-Kherba in Algeria, dating to around 1.8 million years ago (mya), [14] Kilombe caldera in Kenya, dating to around 1.76 mya, [13] and the Buia site in Eritrea dating to the late Early Pleistocene, [12] around 1 mya. [8] Often at these sites tools from the Oldowan industry are present. [13] [14] At Kilombe and Buia, it is unclear whether the hippos were hunted or scavenged. [12] [13] It is unlikely that healthy adult individuals were hunted, as with living hippopotamuses, they were likely dangerous. [1]
Homo habilis is an extinct species of archaic human from the Early Pleistocene of East and South Africa about 2.31 million years ago to 1.65 million years ago (mya). Upon species description in 1964, H. habilis was highly contested, with many researchers recommending it be synonymised with Australopithecus africanus, the only other early hominin known at the time, but H. habilis received more recognition as time went on and more relevant discoveries were made. By the 1980s, H. habilis was proposed to have been a human ancestor, directly evolving into Homo erectus which directly led to modern humans. This viewpoint is now debated. Several specimens with insecure species identification were assigned to H. habilis, leading to arguments for splitting, namely into "H. rudolfensis" and "H. gautengensis" of which only the former has received wide support.
Paranthropus is a genus of extinct hominin which contains two widely accepted species: P. robustus and P. boisei. However, the validity of Paranthropus is contested, and it is sometimes considered to be synonymous with Australopithecus. They are also referred to as the robust australopithecines. They lived between approximately 2.9 and 1.2 million years ago (mya) from the end of the Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene.
The hippopotamus, also shortened to hippo, further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, 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. Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).
Hippopotamidae is a family of stout, naked-skinned, and semiaquatic artiodactyl mammals, possessing three-chambered stomachs and walking on four toes on each foot. While they resemble pigs physiologically, their closest living relatives are the cetaceans. They are sometimes referred to as hippopotamids.
The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge in Tanzania is one of the most important paleoanthropological localities in the world; the many sites exposed by the gorge have proven invaluable in furthering understanding of early human evolution. A steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches across East Africa, it is about 48 km long, and is located in the eastern Serengeti Plains within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Olbalbal ward located in Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region, about 45 kilometres from Laetoli, another important archaeological locality of early human occupation. The British/Kenyan paleoanthropologist-archeologist team of Mary and Louis Leakey established excavation and research programs at Olduvai Gorge that achieved great advances in human knowledge and are world-renowned. The site is registered as one of the National Historic Sites of Tanzania.
The Oldowan was a widespread stone tool archaeological industry (style) in prehistory. These early tools were simple, usually made with one or a few flakes chipped off with another stone. Oldowan tools were used during the Lower Paleolithic period, 2.9 million years ago up until at least 1.7 million years ago (Ma), by ancient Hominins across much of Africa. This technological industry was followed by the more sophisticated Acheulean industry.
Hippopotamus is a genus of artiodactyl mammals consisting of one extant species, Hippopotamus amphibius, the river hippopotamus, and several extinct species from both recent and prehistoric times. It belongs to the family Hippopotamidae, which also includes the pygmy hippopotamus and a number of extinct genera.
Palaeoloxodon recki is an extinct species of elephant native to Africa and West Asia from the late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene. During most of its existence, it represented the dominant elephant species in East Africa.
The Omo Kibish Formation or simply Kibish Formation is a geological formation in the Lower Omo Valley of southwestern Ethiopia. It is named after the nearby Omo River and is subdivided into four members known as Members I-IV. The members are numbered in the order in which they were deposited and date between 196 ka ~ 13-4 ka. Omo Kibish and the neighboring formations have produced a rich paleoanthropological record with many hominin and stone tool finds. The Kibish formation, in particular, is most notable for Richard Leakey's work there in 1967 during which he and his team found one of the oldest remains of anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Known as Omo Kibish 1, the fossil was dated to 196 ± 5 ka old and is among two other Omo remains that were found in Member I. The Omo fossils were more recently re-dated to approximately 233 ± 22 ka old. In the early 2000s a research boom enriched the knowledge base about the Kibish Formation. Study of the faunal remains and stone tools provided insight into the archeological associations of Homo sapiens and thereby their behaviors and the complex environmental contexts in which they lived and evolved.
Hexaprotodon is an extinct genus of hippopotamid known from Asia and possibly Africa and Europe. The name Hexaprotodon means "six front teeth" as some of the fossil forms have three pairs of incisors.
Hippopotamus antiquus is an extinct species of Hippopotamus that ranged across Europe during the Early and Middle Pleistocene.
Hippopotamus melitensis is an extinct hippopotamus from Malta. It lived during Middle-Late Pleistocene. It probably descended from Hippopotamus pentlandi from Sicily, which in turn probably descended from the common hippopotamus. Like Hippopotamus pentlandi, Hippopotamus melitensis is substantially smaller in size than H. amphibius as a result of insular dwarfism, having an estimated mass of approximately 900 kg, which is smaller than the 1100 kg estimated for H. pentlandi. The diet of H. melitensis is suggested to have been more generalist than Hippopotamus amphibius, likely as a result of limited resource diversity and lack of competition, as the only other large herbivore on the island was the dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis. The majority of findings of this species are from Għar Dalam, a cave on Malta famous for its Pleistocene fossil deposits.
Hippopotamus pentlandi is an extinct species of hippopotamus from Sicily, known from the late Middle Pleistocene to early Late Pleistocene. It is the largest of the insular dwarf hippos known from the Pleistocene of the Mediterranean, "at most 20% smaller than the mainland forms", with an estimated body mass of approximately 1100 kg. It is suggested that it arrived in Sicily between 250,000 and 150,000 years ago, probably descending from the modern hippopotamus, with an origin from Hippopotamus antiquus being less likely. In comparison to those species, the muzzle was shorter, the occipital and nasal regions were more developed, the mastoid process was enlarged, and the dental row was shortened, and the condyle of the mandible is low. In comparison to H. amphibius, the orbits are also elevated. It was present in Sicily until at least the latest Middle Pleistocene around 120 kya, and was probably extinct by the beginning of Marine Isotope Stage 4. Contemporaneous species include the dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis, the aurochs, red deer, steppe bison, fallow deer, wild boar, brown bear, wolves, red foxes, cave hyena and cave lions. Its diet was likely grazing dominated, similar to that of modern H. amphibius. It is probably ancestral to Hippopotamus melitensis from Malta, which is substantially smaller than H. pentlandi.
Homo erectus is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Its specimens are among the first recognizable members of the genus Homo.
Stephanorhinus is an extinct genus of two-horned rhinoceros native to Eurasia and North Africa that lived during the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene. Species of Stephanorhinus were the predominant and often only species of rhinoceros in much of temperate Eurasia, especially Europe, for most of the Pleistocene. The last two species of Stephanorhinus – Merck's rhinoceros and the narrow-nosed rhinoceros – went extinct during the last glacial period.
The narrow-nosed rhinoceros, also known as the steppe rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros belonging to the genus Stephanorhinus that lived in western Eurasia, including Europe, as well as North Africa during the Pleistocene. It first appeared in Europe some 600,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene and survived there until as recently as 40,000 years before present.
Hippopotamus behemoth is an extinct species of hippopotamus from the Early Pleistocene of the Levant. Fossils of it, and its probable ancestor, H. gorgops, are found in the ‘Ubeidiya site in the southern Levant, dating to the Early Pleistocene, around 1.4 million years ago.
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