Editing Pygmy hippopotamus (section)

=== Extinct pygmy and dwarf hippos ===
Several species of small hippopotamids have also become extinct in the Mediterranean in the late [[Pleistocene]] or early [[Holocene]]. Though these species are sometimes known as "pygmy hippopotami" they are not believed to be closely related to ''C.&nbsp;liberiensis''. These include the [[Cretan Dwarf Hippopotamus|Cretan dwarf hippopotamus]] (''Hippopotamus creutzburgi''), the Sicilian hippopotamus (''[[Hippopotamus pentlandi]]''), the Maltese hippopotamus (''[[Hippopotamus melitensis]]'') and the [[Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus|Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus]] (''Hippopotamus minor'').<ref name="Taxonomy of Pleistocene">{{cite journal|last=Petronio |first=C. |year=1995 |title=Note on the taxonomy of Pleistocene hippopotamuses |journal=Ibex |volume=3 |pages=53–55 |url=http://www.mountainecology.org/IBEX3/pdf/Art_Capitolo1/note_taxonomy_pleistocene.pdf |access-date=2008-08-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912012236/http://www.mountainecology.org/IBEX3/pdf/Art_Capitolo1/note_taxonomy_pleistocene.pdf |archive-date=2008-09-12 }}</ref>

These species, though comparable in size to the pygmy hippopotamus, are considered dwarf hippopotamuses, rather than pygmies. They are likely descended from a full-sized species of [[Hippopotamus antiquus|European hippopotamus]], and reached their small size through the evolutionary process of [[insular dwarfism]] which is common on islands; the ancestors of pygmy hippopotami were also small and thus there was never a dwarfing process.<ref name="Taxonomy of Pleistocene"/> There were also several species of pygmy hippopotamus on the island of [[Madagascar]] (see [[Malagasy Hippopotamus|Malagasy hippopotamus]]).