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The Hippo's Missing Link

Posted by michael on from the facts-to-impress-your-children-with dept.

hende_jman writes "Working with French Colleagues, Jean-Renaud Boisserie, a post-doc fellow at UC Berkeley, found fossil and molecular evidence that points to a close relationship between the hippopotamus and aquatic mammals. The hippo's evolution has been a contentious issue in biology and through history it has been associated with many animals such as horses and pigs."

16 comments

  1. Is this actually news? by drdanny_orig · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I could swear I read about this in Dawkins' last book, The Ancestor's Tale which came out last year, didn't I?

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    .nosig
    1. Re:Is this actually news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I looked and I can't find the scientific article online where the newpaper article says it was published, so I can't say what's new here.

  2. Congress with beasts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    been associated with many animals such as horses and pigs.

    Yeh, there was a time in college when that was okay.

    1. Re:Congress with beasts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a first time for everything: I wish I could mod this +1, Funny and -1, Sick.

      Got a chuckle out of me, though...

      AC

    2. Re:Congress with beasts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      > > been associated with many animals such as horses and pigs.
      >
      >Yeh, there was a time in college when that was okay.

      Then you grow up and it's donkeys and elephants.

  3. I don't see it by Yeechang+Lee · · Score: 1

    Honest, I just don't see the connection between these hippos and aquatic mammals!

  4. Where did they find this missing link? by MerryGoByeBye · · Score: 1

    Posting on /.?

    har.har.har

  5. The answer was known in 427 BC! by Pi_0's+don't+shower · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The answer has been around since ancient times. Herodotus says, from the article:
    "They [the hippopotami] present the following appearance; four-footed, with cloven hooves like cattle; blunt-nosed; with a horse's mane, visible tusks, a horse's tail and voice; big as the biggest bull. Their hide is so thick that, when it is dried, spearshafts are made of it." (Herodotus, 2.71.1).
    Of course, Aristotle's opinion simply copies Herodotus', leading us to conclude that either these two have never seen a hippopotamus, or evolution happens faster than anyone ever thought!
    1. Re:The answer was known in 427 BC! by gstoddart · · Score: 1
      Of course, Aristotle's opinion simply copies Herodotus', leading us to conclude that either these two have never seen a hippopotamus, or evolution happens faster than anyone ever thought!


      OK. I'm confused ... exactly what about the description is so wrong as to conclude that?

      Four feet? Check.
      Has hooves? Check
      Blunt Nosed? Check.
      Mane? Well, they're hairy.
      Tusks? Check, well, okay, big teeth that look like tusks.
      Furry tail? Kinda, sorta
      Big? Check.

      I'm sure they wouldn't let me try and make a spearshaft out of a hippo nowadays, but what exactly would lead you to comment about the evolution?

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    2. Re:The answer was known in 427 BC! by Conanymous+Award · · Score: 1

      The point of the article was that the hippos' ancestors, the anthracotheres, share a common ancestor with the whales. Hippos aren't that closely related to horses (which are perissodactyls).

  6. Yes, but that doesn't answer the modern question by hey! · · Score: 2, Funny

    Are they allowed on the Atkins?

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  7. What? by Pan+T.+Hose · · Score: 3, Funny

    The hippies are the missing link? I knew it!

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    1. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The hippies are the missing link? I knew it!

      Yeah, the hippies are the missing link, not Oprah as the article suggests.

  8. French Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And then they promptly surrended to their new Hippo Overlords!

  9. USPS Weighs In by Guano_Jim · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Fortunately, the United States Postal Service has already published instructions on how to pack a hippo.

    No information on evolutionary history. For that, Dawkins' Ancestor's Tale is highly recommended. Mentions the hippo specifically.

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