What is "whippomorpha"

Whippomorpha is the clade containing the Cetacea (whales, dolphins, etc.) and their closest living relatives, the hippopotamuses, named by Waddell et al. (1999). It is defined as a crown group, including all species that are descendants of the most recent common ancestor of Hippopotamus amphibius and Tursiops truncatus. This would be a sub-grouping of the Cetartiodactyla (which also includes pigs and ruminants). It is not clear how recently whales and hippos share a common ancestor, though the genetic evidence is strong that the cetaceans arose from within the Artiodactyla, thus making the even-toed ungulate grouping a paraphyletic one.

Whippomorpha is a mixture of English (wh[ale]'' + hippo[potamus'']) and Greek (μορφή, morphe = form). Attempts have been made to rename the clade Cetancodonta but Whippomorpha maintains precedent.