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
Madagascan pygmy shrew like its relatives. The litter size is one or two. It is threatened by logging and other forms of deforestation. Madagascan pygmy shrew The Madagascan pygmy shrew ("Suncus madagascariensis") is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is the only known Malagasy shrew. Some taxonomists regard it as conspecific with the widely distributed Etruscan shrew, the smallest known mammal by mass. It is found in Madagascar and the Comoros, at altitudes from sea level to 1500 m. It is thought to be more common in the less humid western and southern parts of Madagascar. This shrew may also