Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo vs Long-tailed Sylph

Hippopotamus amphibius compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo is Vulnerable while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (hayvan)	Animalia (hayvan)
Phylum same	Chordata (Kordalılar)	Chordata (Kordalılar)
Class	Mammalia (memeliler)	Aves (kuş)
Order	Artiodactyla (Çift toynaklılar)	Apodiformes (Ebabiller)
Family	Hippopotamidae (Hippos)	Trochilidae
Genus	Hippopotamus (Hippos)	Aglaiocercus
Species	Hippopotamus amphibius	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo and Long-tailed Sylph share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Kordalılar)

Conservation Status

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~130.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	40 years	—
Average Length	3.5 m	—
Average Weight	1.5 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo

Africa's most dangerous large mammal, common hippos can reach 3,200 kg and inhabit rivers, lakes, and wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Semi-aquatic, spending up to 16 hours daily submerged to keep cool, they graze on land at night. Despite appearing docile, hippos are extremely aggressive and territorial, responsible for hundreds of human fatalities annually. Vulnerable, with populations threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting for ivory tusks.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of the most strikingly ornamented hummingbirds, male long-tailed sylphs have iridescent green plumage and dramatically elongated, ribbon-like outer tail feathers reaching up to 22 cm — over three times the body length. Found in Andean cloud forests of Colombia and Venezuela, they inhabit humid montane forest between 1,400–2,800 meters elevation. Males perform elaborate display flights to attract females. Their extravagant tails are a classic example of sexual selection via female preference.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia