The hezhugong (Chinese: "river boar") is a cryptid reported from China's southern Yunnan Province. There are few details on it, but it is said to superficially resemble a small hippopotamus. David C. Xu notes that, based on its name, it is either semi-aquatic or a wading animal.[1]
Hippopotamuses do not currently inhabit Asia (officially), so Xu suggests that the hezhugong could be a species of Hexaprotodon, a genus of hippopotamus known from Plesitocene India, Burma, and Indonesia, which is sometimes applied to the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Other suggestions include a living Anthracotherium or pantodont such as Coryphodon: these animals are known from China and are believed to have resembled hippopotamuses, but are also considered to have gone extinct in the Miocene and the Eocene, respectively.[1]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Xu, David C. (2018) Mystery Creatures of China: The Complete Cryptozoological Guide, Coachwhip Publications, ISBN 978-1616464301