Family Reunion:
Did you know that the hippo's closest relative is the whale? The two mammals share a common ancestor that lived about 60 million years ago.

This ancestor evolved into two groups of animals: early cetaceans, which became whales, dolphins, and porpoises, and a group of unusual land animals.

The only surviving descendent of these land animals is the hippo, making its distant cousin the whale its closest surviving relative!

 

 

All materials on this page by Julia Steiman