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Giant hippos weighing around three tonnes roamed Britain one million years ago, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Leicester have discovered a tooth in a cave in Somerset, which they believe belonged to a giant species of hippo called Hippopotamus antiquus, and dates back around one million years.
Hippopotamus antiquus was much larger than the modern African hippo, weighing in at a whopping three tonnes, the researchers say.
While previous research has indicated that these creatures roamed the UK 750,000 years ago, the new tooth suggests the animal lived here much earlier than previously thought.
Researchers from the University of Leicester have discovered a tooth in a cave in Somerset, which they believe belonged to a giant hippo called Hippopotamus antiquus, and dates back around one million years
In the study, researchers from the University of Leicester excavated Westbury Cave in Somerset, where they uncovered the hippo tooth.
Dating revealed that the fossil is over one million years old - significantly older than the previous hippo fossils found in the UK, which date back to 750,000 years ago.
Dr Neil Adams, who led the study, said: 'It was very
