Found the ancient hippo fossil named

New scientists found fossils of species that lived about 23 million years ago used a special muzzle like a vacuum cleaner.

Fossils discovered in Aleutian Island, Unalaska show that this hippopotamus has very long muzzle and teeth, living about 23 million years ago. Scientists named this species Ounalashkastylus tomidai . It means that semi-marine animals have cylindrical teeth and eat vegetables.

Hippo Ounalashkastylus tomidai is likened to an ancient vacuum cleaner.

The hippopotamus Ounalashkastylus tomidai has a cylindrical canine structure, rather than up or down like today's hippopotamus.

According to Professor Louis Jacobs, a paleontologist at Southern Methodist University, Texas, USA, after the food enters the mouth, the animal will take advantage of the lower jaw teeth and strong muscles in the upper jaw. to crush food before swallowing. With a large lung cavity they are capable of sucking food like vacuum cleaners.

Moreover, Louis Jacobs said that the structure of teeth and jaws of this mammal has proved to be plant-eating. Therefore, scientists call them ancient vacuum cleaners.

"They are marine mammals but they are not entirely marine," he said. Food is mainly from near-shore vegetation such as seaweed, seagrass so digestion is quite easy.

This ancient hippopotamus also has the ability to move on land but very slowly.

It seems that they live in both sea and land like seals. This ancient hippopotamus also has the ability to move on land but is very slow and heavy like a pig bear. When underwater, they swim like polar bears.

Ounalashkastylus tomidai belongs to Desmostylia marine mammals, now extinct. According to scientists, this species lived in the period of 10-33 million years along the northern Pacific coast.