Dwarf hippopotamus is one of the oldest mammal species in Cyprus that upon its arrival on the island about 12,000 years ago, underwent dwarfism due to its isolation and limited food supply. The Cyprus dwarf hippopotamuses had a length of up to 1.5 meters and a height of approximately 75 centimeters. They were herbivorous land animals, not amphibious like modern-day hippos, and they had no natural predators. The Cyprus dwarf hippopotamuses disappeared from the island about 10,000 years ago. In the area of ​​Aetokremos in Akrotiri, hundreds of bones of dwarf hippos with marks made by sharp stone tools were found. People of that time hunted these animals for food, contributing to their extinction.

Fossilized bones of dwarf hippos have been found in Cyprus, in more than 40 sites mainly in caves at the foothills of Pentadaktylos, as well as in the Xylofagou and Ayia Napa areas. In many parts of the island, the fossils were considered to be the bones of saints, martyrs, or dragons. Dorothy Bate of the British Museum visited Cyprus in 1904 and described the animal for the first time.