Hippopotamus Hippopotamus The common hippopotamus ("Hippopotamus amphibius"), or hippo, is a large, mostly herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus ("Choeropsis liberiensis" or "Hexaprotodon liberiensis"). The name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (). After the elephant and rhinoceros, the common hippopotamus is the third-largest type of land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the Hippopotamidae are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged
Pygmy possum species are able to leap long distances. Conservation International (CI) and the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI) reported on the possible discovery of a new species of "Cercartetus" pygmy possum upon visit to the Foja Mountains in June 2007. The two genera of pygmy possums are "Burramys" and "Cercartetus". "Burramys" contains only one extant species, the mountain pygmy possum, "B. parvus". As currently understood, "Cercartetus" consists of four extant species. † = extinct species Pygmy possum The pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. The five extant species of pygmy possum are