Pygmy hippopotamus the pygmy hippopotamus, are considered dwarf hippopotamuses, rather than pygmies. They are likely descended from a full-sized species of European hippopotamus, and reached their small size through the evolutionary process of insular dwarfism which is common on islands; the ancestors of pygmy hippopotami were also small and thus there was never a dwarfing process. There were also several species of pygmy hippo on the island of Madagascar (see Malagasy hippopotamus). Pygmy hippos share the same general form as a hippopotamus. They have a graviportal skeleton, with four stubby legs and four toes on each foot, supporting a portly frame. The
Pygmy salamander Pygmy salamander The pygmy salamander (or pigmy salamander, "Desmognathus wrighti") is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States in the southern Appalachians in North Carolina and Tennessee. "Desmognathus wrighti" is a member of the family Plethodontidae and is commonly known as the pygmy salamander. As the name suggest the pygmy salamander is the smallest of the nineteen species in the genus "Desmognathus". "D. wrighti" undergoes direct development and does not have a free-living larval stage. Only two other taxa in "Desmognathus", "D. aeneus" and "D. organi", exhibit direct development along with the