biology

Hippopotamus lemerlei

Hippopotamus lemerlei is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hippopotamus lemerlei rather than just read about it. In short: Lemerle's dwarf hippopotamus (Hippopotamus lemerlei) is an extinct species of Malagasy hippopotamus. Taxonomy Malagasy hippopotamuses were first discovered in the mid-19th century by Alfred Grandidier, who unearthed nearly 50 individual hippopotamuses from a dried-up swamp at Ambolisaka near Lake Ihotry, a few miles from the Mozambique Channel.

Key takeaways

Hippopotamus lemerlei belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hippopotamus lemerlei to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hippopotamus lemerlei from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lemerle's dwarf hippopotamus (Hippopotamus lemerlei) is an extinct species of Malagasy hippopotamus.

Taxonomy Malagasy hippopotamuses were first discovered in the mid-19th century by Alfred Grandidier, who unearthed nearly 50 individual hippopotamuses from a dried-up swamp at Ambolisaka near Lake Ihotry, a few miles from the Mozambique Channel. In 1989, Scandinavian palaeontologist Solweig Stuenes described H. madagascariensis and H. lemerlei from these bones. It may have descended from full-sized hippopotamuses who shrunk due to insular dwarfism, similar to many Mediterranean island hippos, such as with the Cretan dwarf hippopotamus or the Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus.

Description

Hippopotamus lemerlei bones have been mostly discovered in the rivers and lakes (riparian environments) of western Madagascar, suggesting a habitat very similar to that of the modern hippopotamus of modern Africa. H. lemerlei also shared the high-placed eyes that make it easier to see while submerged. Although a clear relative to the common hippopotamus, H. lemerlei was much smaller, roughly the size of the modern pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). The largest specimens were 2.0 m (6.5 ft) long and 2.5 ft (0.76 m) tall. Bones of H. lemerlei have been dated to about 1,000 years ago (980±200 radiocarbon years before present.

Paleoecology

Diet Hippopotamus lemerlei and contemporary Aldabrachelys tortoises were the dominant grazers in Madagascar. Malagasy hippopotamuses in general, however, were less grass-specialised than the mainland African hippopotamus.

Extinction Although there have been no remains dating to within the last thousand years, the hippopotamus has been surprisingly common in Malagasy oral legends. In different regions of Madagascar, stories were recorded of the mangarsahoc, the tsy-aomby-aomby, the omby-rano, and the laloumena, all animals that resembled hippopotamuses. The strength of these oral traditions led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to classify H. lemerlei as recently extinct (going extinct some time after the year 1500). At least seven hippopotamus bones show unequivocal signs of butchery, suggesting that they survived until humans arrived on Madagascar, perhaps coexisting with humans for about 2,000 years. It is also possible that over-hunting by humans led to their extinction.

See also Hippopotamus madagascariensis Hippopotamus laloumena

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hippopotamus lemerlei

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hippopotamus lemerlei claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hippopotamus lemerlei before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hippopotamus lemerlei ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hippopotamus lemerlei

In research: Hippopotamus lemerlei appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hippopotamus lemerlei in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hippopotamus lemerlei is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Extinct animals of Madagascar, Extinct hippopotamuses, Holocene extinctions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hippopotamus lemerlei outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hippopotamus lemerlei in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hippopotamus lemerlei means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hippopotamus lemerlei out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hippopotamus lemerlei in simple terms?

Lemerle's dwarf hippopotamus (Hippopotamus lemerlei) is an extinct species of Malagasy hippopotamus. Taxonomy Malagasy hippopotamuses were first discovered in the mid-19th century by Alfred Grandidier, who unearthed nearly 50 individual hippopotamuses from a dried-up swamp at Ambolisaka near Lake I…

Why does Hippopotamus lemerlei matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hippopotamus lemerlei?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hippopotamus lemerlei.