Boss Jr. Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I was discussing Evolution with a quasi believer of the science (my own Father actually). He challenged me to trace the evolutionary lines of the Hippo (knowing full well that it'd be a feat). I'm not having that much trouble tracing the family back... where I am having issues is in more recent history. Pics of Type Specimens from reliable sources for Kenypotamus and/or other early-mid Miocene Hippopotamidae Clan decending into Hippopomatus Amphibus would be awesome. After that I can easily trace the fossils back and show how a single ancestor branched off into Whales, Hippos, Equus, Suidae, Rhinos, Giraffs, Ungulates and so on. But I really, really need some help on those... any one of those 3 or 4 transitional species would do superlatively! Morotochoerus Ugandensis Kulutherium Rusingensis Kenyapotamus A type specimen is needed to bridge the gap.. Thank you in advence for your help I really really appreciate it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I ran a Google Image search for each; lots of overlap, as you might expect, but I have found this method to sometimes pay off with secondary leads. LINKS: M. ugandensis K. rusingensis Kenyapotamus "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Jr. Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 I've done a lot of this and I'm just beating my head against the wall right now. It's sooo frustrating that I have really good pics of Merycopotamus and Elomeryx armatus (although I question the Elomeryx connection a little bit) and I can keep going back but finding recent fossils is sooo difficult! I admit I'm definitely no expert! But that's why it's so important for the morphological differences and similarities to be obvious at this point. I found a pic that is "supposed" to be Kenyapotamus' lower jaw with molars but the portion with the incisor is missing and because this is a discussion between "Non Experts" lol he can easily say "well that could be the jaw of anything!"... I'm at my witts end as you can imagine... I've also tried to leave out Hexaprotodon family because I assumed that when my Dad made the challenge he was talking exclusively about Hippopotamus Amphibus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 At this point it sounds like you are already on the trail of particular technical journal articles. If you haven't already looked at this book, try tracking it down at the nearest university earth/life sciences library. http://www.amazon.com/Cenozoic-Mammals-Africa-Lars-Werdelin/dp/0520257219/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346820700&sr=1-1&keywords=cenozoic+mammals+of+africa It is the most recent overview of African fossil mammals and should have several citations of early hippo references (more stuff to track down). I haven't leafed through it yet but it is much more detailed than "Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large-Mammal Fauna" (Turner and Anton, 2004) - otherwise a good general review for those with a more-than-passing interest in fossil mammals. You could try directly contacting any of the authors of those articles for further background as well. I was discussing Evolution with a quasi believer of the science (my own Father actually). He challenged me to trace the evolutionary lines of the Hippo (knowing full well that it'd be a feat). I'm not having that much trouble tracing the family back... where I am having issues is in more recent history. Pics of Type Specimens from reliable sources for Kenypotamus and/or other early-mid Miocene Hippopotamidae Clan decending into Hippopomatus Amphibus would be awesome. After that I can easily trace the fossils back and show how a single ancestor branched off into Whales, Hippos, Equus, Suidae, Rhinos, Giraffs, Ungulates and so on. But I really, really need some help on those... any one of those 3 or 4 transitional species would do superlatively! Morotochoerus Ugandensis Kulutherium Rusingensis Kenyapotamus A type specimen is needed to bridge the gap.. Thank you in advence for your help I really really appreciate it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Jr. Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 I might try contacting them, that's not a bad idea. There's a site I keep coming across that discribes the fossils in question but posts no pics. I've recently found that I can someitmse search the name of a fossil and get images (such is the case with missing fossil images on this site Here). So I may try that again. Idk, whatever works . Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Our esteemed curator of PDF files, Fruitbat, maintains an extensive library here; maybe one of these will be of use to you: LINK (scroll down to Family Hippopotamidae). "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Jr. Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Thanks a ton, might be exactly what I'm looking for . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Jr. Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) Hey, thanks to you guys I was able to add another several to the list... I found this cladeogram, but some of the Hippo clan aren't on it. This is what I have so far. (see attached file) Edited September 6, 2012 by Boss Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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