''Saotherium'' is an extinct genus of hippopotamid from the

Early Pliocene Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, specifically

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...

. It is represented by a single species, ''S. mingoz''. The earliest fossils appear at the start of the Pliocene, while the latest are dated to about 4 mya. ''Saotherium'' was a small hippopotamid similar to the

pygmy hippopotamus The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has b ...

in size and morphology. The elongated shape of its brain case and the relatively large orbits suggest a possible evolutionary relationship with the latter.

References

Hippopotamuses Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera Pliocene mammals of Africa Pliocene even-toed ungulates Fossil taxa described in 2005 {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub