Kenyapotamus fossil map
Where fossils of Kenyapotamus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 15 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 15.98–7.246 million years ago (Langhian to Tortonian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Hippopotamidae |
| Named by | Pickford 1983 |
| Fossil records | 16 occurrences at 6 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Kenya, Tunisia, Ethiopia |
| Rock formations | Beglia, Upper Koru Series, Ngorora, Tiim Phonolites, Chorora, Nakali |
About Kenyapotamus
Kenyapotamus is an extinct genus of hippopotamid and possible ancestor of living hippopotamuses that lived roughly 16 million to 8 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. Its name reflects that its fossils were first found in modern-day Kenya.
Although little is known about Kenyapotamus, its dental pattern bore similarities to that of the genus Xenohyus, a European suid from the Early Miocene. This led some scientists to conclude that hippopotami were most closely related to modern peccaries and suids.
Recent molecular research has suggested that hippopotamuses are more closely related to cetaceans than to other artiodactyls. A morphological analysis of fossil artiodactyls and whales, which also included Kenyapotamus, strongly supported a relationship between hippos and the anatomically similar family Anthracotheriidae. Two archaic whales (Pakicetus and Artiocetus) formed the sister group of the hippopotamid-anthracotheriid clade, but this relationship was weakly supported.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Kenyapotamus (revision 1316221378), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q2899857.
