Hexaprotodon

Hexaprotodon
Temporal range: Latest Miocene to Late Pleistocene
Hexaprotodon sivalensis skull elements
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Suborder: Whippomorpha
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 name Hexaprotodon means "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.