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Hippos: Ice Age surprise from the Upper Rhine Graben!
New research from the University of Potsdam shows that hippos lived in Germany during the last Ice Age.
Hippos: Ice Age surprise from the Upper Rhine Graben!
Particularly exciting news from the world of paleontology! A recent study shows that hippos lived in Central Europe much longer than previously thought. According to research conducted under the direction of the University of Potsdam and the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums Mannheim, these powerful animals lived in the Upper Rhine Rift during the last Ice Age, specifically between 47,000 and 31,000 years ago. Previously it was believed that the common hippopotamus had disappeared from Central Europe around 115,000 years ago, but new analyzes now give us a different perspective. This is reported by idw-online.de.
A crucial element of the discovery is a fragmented lower jaw of a female hippopotamus that came from the gravel and sand deposits in Bobenheim-Roxheim in the Rhine-Palatinate district. The bone finds are not only well preserved, but also a valuable source for research. This area of the Upper Rhine Graben, which runs through parts of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, was an ancient habitat for hippos, which may have lived in small, isolated populations.
New insights into the lifestyle of hippos
The shrinking size of the river population and its genetic diversity were central points of the study. Dr. Ronny Friedrich, one of the researchers, highlights that the DNA analyzes show that these hippos are closely linked to today's African relatives, which points to interesting evolutionary themes. In contrast to the larger populations known from earlier times, the genetic diversity of Ice Age hippos was low, suggesting limited survival.
During their time, the hippos lived in a milder climatic period in the middle of the Ice Age, which allowed them to share with species such as mammoths and woolly rhinos. Research into the lifestyle of these animals is being carried out as part of the “Ice Age Window Upper Rhine Graben” project, which is funded by the Klaus Tschira Foundation Heidelberg. The aim of the project is to understand the climate and environmental events in the Upper Rhine Graben over 400,000 years.
An outlook on future research
The analog studies carried out could also have consequences for future research. Dr. Patrick Arnold, one of the study's lead authors, emphasizes that hippos did not simply disappear with the end of the last interglacial period. Rather, other European hippopotamus fossils should also be reassessed. These new findings could significantly expand our knowledge of the wildlife in Central Europe during the Ice Age.
Overall, the study, published in the journal Current Biology, shows how complex Ice Age research is and how it continues to bring us new surprises. The question of how different the habitats of our ancestors were remains a fascinating topic that still holds many secrets. Further details and the comprehensive research results can be found in the article on stern.de and in the Original publication.