小人河馬

From 小人 (kobito, “pygmy”) +‎ 河馬 (kaba, “hippopotamus”). The hito reading for 人 changes to bito as an instance of rendaku (連(れん)濁(だく)).

• (Tokyo) こびとかば [kòbító káꜜbà] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [ko̞bʲito̞ ka̠ba̠]

小(こ)人(びと)河(か)馬(ば) or 小人河馬(コビトカバ) • (kobito kaba) 

1. a pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis)

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).