Black Rhinoceros
The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a critically endangered species native to East and Southern Africa, with colours varying from brown to grey.
via Wikipedia: White rhinoceros · see source
The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although the species is referred to as black, its colours vary from brown to grey. It is the only extant species of the genus Diceros. The species overall is classified as critically endangered (even though the south-western black rhinoceros is classified as near threatened) and is threatened by multiple factors including poaching and habitat reduction. Three subspecies have been declared extinct, including the western black rhinoceros, which was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2011. The IUCN estimates that 3,142 mature individuals remain in the wild.
Quick Facts
- Genus
- Diceros
- Species
- bicornis
Lore & Background
The species was first named Rhinoceros bicornis by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema naturae in 1758. The name means 'double-horned rhinoceros'. There is some confusion about what exactly Linnaeus conceived under this name as this species was probably based upon the skull of a single-horned Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), with a second horn artificially added by the collector. Such a skull is known to have existed and Linnaeus even mentioned India as origin of this species.
However he also referred to reports from early travellers about a double-horned rhino in Africa and when it emerged that there is only one, single-horned species of rhino in India, Rhinoceros bicornis was used to refer to the African rhinos (the white rhino only became recognised in 1812). In 1911 this was formally fixed and the Cape of Good Hope officially declared the type locality of the species.
Reader's Guide
An adult black rhinoceros stands 1.32–1.8 m (4.3–5.9 ft) high at the shoulder and is 2.8–3.75 m (9.2–12.3 ft) in length. An adult typically weighs from 800 to 1,400 kg (1,800 to 3,100 lb), however unusually large male specimens have been reported at up to 2.9 t (3.2 short tons). The cows are smaller than the bulls. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm (1.6 ft) long, exceptionally up to 135.9 cm (4.5 ft).
The longest known black rhinoceros horn measured nearly 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length. Sometimes a third, smaller horn may develop. These horns are used for defense, intimidation, and digging up roots and breaking branches during feeding. The black rhino is smaller than the white rhino and close in size to the Javan rhino of Indonesia.
It has a pointed and prehensile upper lip, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding, whereas the white rhinoceros has square lips used for eating grass. The black rhinoceros can also be distinguished from the white rhinoceros by its size, smaller skull, and ears; and by the position of the head, which is held higher than the white rhinoceros, since the black rhinoceros is a browser and not a grazer. Their thick-layered skin helps to protect black rhinos from thorns and sharp grasses. Their skin harbors external parasites, such as mites and ticks, which may be eaten by oxpeckers and egrets.
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