whippo

noun /ˈwɪpəʊ/

1. Any member of the suborder Whippomorpha, including whales and hippopotamuses.

   I hasten to point out that the molecular data sets supporting the "whippo" clade are frought with problems, many of which are currently being addressed by several high-caliber systematists, and so we may not have heard the last word on this issue.

2. A hypothetical common ancestor between whales and hippopotamuses.

   As an example of this confusion, transitional forms are not to be sought between equally derived living whales and their closest living relatives, the hippos. We do not search for "whippos."

Where it comes from

Blend of whale + hippo, reportedly coined by John Gatesy et al. in 1996.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry whippo (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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