Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros Temporal range: Eocene - Recent
Black Rhinoceros, Diceros Bicornis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Rhinocerotidae Gray, 1821

A rhinoceros (also called a rhino for short) is any of five living species of mammals in the family Rhinocerotidae, of the order Perissodactyla.

Taxonomy

Sizes of the different rhinoceros species.

• Family Rhinocerotidae
  • Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis
  • White Rhinoceros, or Square-lipped Rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum
  • Javan Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros sondaicus
  • Indian Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis
  • Sumatran Rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

Habitat

All five rhinoceros species are native to Africa or Asia. The two species in Africa are the White Rhinoceros and the Black Rhinoceros. The three species in Asia (including islands of Indonesia) are the Javan Rhinoceros, Sumatran Rhinoceros, and Indian Rhinoceros.

Life

A White Rhinoceros and its calf.

The rhinoceros is an herbivore. Its favourite food is leaves, branches and bushes.

Rhinoceroses have a large horn on the nose. Their horns are not like those of other horned mammals: the rhinoceros' horn is made of keratin packed together very tightly.

The rhinoceroses can weigh up to 2000kg and be up to 375cm tall.

Rhinoceros and Humans

Only the White Rhinoceros is not in critical danger of becoming extinct because of humans killing them even though it is illegal, and the White Rhino in some danger of becoming extinct. Loss of habitat is also a danger to all rhinos. Rhinos are becoming extinct because people are still killing them for money even though the government made logging their habitat and poaching illegal. Rhinoceros horns are used in Asian medicine, and for dagger handles in Yemen and Oman which is leading to extinction of these animals.

Other websites

• Rhinoceros information from the International Rhino Foundation