What Does Hippopotamus Mean?

Hippopotamus is scientifically named Hippopotamus amphibious.

The word has its origin in the Greek. The word is formed of two words: Hippos and potamus. The word 'hippo' means 'horse' and 'potamus' means 'river'. Hippopotamus is classified under the Genus Hippopotamus, Family Hippopotamidae, Order Artiodactyla, Class Mammalia and Phylum Chordata of Kingdom Animalia. This is a large animal and generally eats plants.

He is considered to be an African mammal. The family Hippopotamidae has only two extant species. Hippopotamus is one of these two species. The plural form of Hippopotamus is hippopotamuses. The Oxford English Dictionary has accepted also the 'hippopotami' as the plural form of the species hippopotamus. These animals live in groups of forty animals. The group is called herd, or school or a bloat. A male hippopotamus is termed a bull and a female hippopotamus, a cow. A hippopotamus has a lifespan of forty to fifty years.

The horse of the river

The word hippocampus is formed of two words: hippo and campus. The word hippocampus is obtained from the Greek word 'hippokampus'. The word 'hippo' is taken from the word hippo and the means horse. The second word is taken from the word campos is taken from 'kampos' and means 'sea monster'. Later, it was adapted by the Late Latin. The word then meant 'a sea horse that has foreleg's of a horse and the tail of a dolphin'. This is the shape of the creature in its cross section. This was a mythological being.

Today, hippocampus is a word related to a part in human body, especially the brain. There are two parts or hemispheres of human brain. The upper part of the two hemispheres is termed cerebral cortex. An enfolding of this cortex that extends into the fissures present laterally on the cerebral hemisphere. This enfolding in its cross section resembles a sea horse. This ridge or enfolding plays an important role in the memory processes.

Large, plant eating animal with a thick skin living in Africa

The hippopotamus was named by the Greeks - its name means "river horse" but the hippo is more closely related to the pig than the horse! Hope that helps

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