Hippopotamus melitensis Temporal range: |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Hippopotamidae |
Genus: | Hippopotamus |
Species: | †H. melitensis |
Binomial name | |
Hippopotamus melitensis Major, 1902 |
Hippopotamus melitensis is an extinct hippopotamus from Malta. It arrived after the Messinian salinity crisis and lived during the . The absence of predators led to the dwarfing of the hippos. The majority of findings of this species are from Għar Dalam, a cave on Malta famous for its Pleistocene fossil deposits.