#Eastern black rhinoceros plus#

The white rhinoceros has square lips used for eating grass. The black rhino is smaller than the white rhino and has a pointed and prehensile upper lip, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding. These horns are used for defense, intimidation, and digging up roots and breaking branches during feeding. Sometimes, a third, smaller horn may develop. The longest known black rhinoceros horn measured nearly 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm (20 in) long, exceptionally up to 140 cm (55 in). 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 2,199–2,896 kg (4,850–6,380 lb).

#Eastern black rhinoceros plus#

minor but represent a subspecies to their own.Īn adult black rhinoceros stands 132–180 cm (52–71 in) high at the shoulder and is 2.8–3.8 m (9.2–12 ft) in length, plus a tail of about 60 cm (24 in) in length. These populations are often erroneously referred to D. Originally distributed in north-western Namibia and southwestern Angola, today restricted to wildlife reserves in Namibia with sporadic sightings in Angola.

South-western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis occidentalis) – A small subspecies, adapted to survival in desertic and semi-desertic conditions.

Extinct but reintroduced in Malawi, Botswana, and Zambia. Preserved in reserves throughout most of its former range but probably extinct in eastern Angola, southern Democratic Republic of Congo and possibly Moçambique. Ranged from north-eastern South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal) to northeastern Tanzania and southeastern Kenya.

South-central black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) – Most widely distributed subspecies, characterised by a compact body, proportionally large head and prominent skin-folds.

Today, its range is limited primarily to Tanzania. Eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli) – Had a historical distribution from South Sudan, Ethiopia, down through Kenya into north-central Tanzania.On Novemthe IUCN declared the western black rhinoceros extinct. In 2006 an intensive survey across its putative range in Cameroon failed to locate any, leading to fears that it was extinct in the wild. The last known wild specimens lived in northern Cameroon. A far greater former range in West Africa as proposed earlier is doubted by a 2004 study. The range possibly streched west to the Niger River in western Niger, though this is unconfirmed. Once lived in South Sudan, northern Central African Republic, southern Chad, northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria and south-eastern Niger. Western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) – Extinct.Black rhinos are considered extinct across most of this area and its conservational status is unclear. Uganda black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis ladoensis) – Former distribution from South Sudan, across Uganda into western Kenya and southwesternmost Ethiopia.Nearly extinct, possibly only one surviving specimen in Botswana. Chobe black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis chobiensis) – A local subspecies restricted to the Chobe Valley in southeastern Angola, Namibia (Caprivi Strip) and northern Botswana.Relict populations in northern Somalia vanished during the early 20th century.

Formerly central Sudan, Eritrea, northern and southeastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and northern and southeastern Somalia.

North-eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis brucii) – Extinct.

It became extinct by excessive hunting and habitat destruction around 1850. Once abundant from the Cape of Good Hope to Transvaal, South Africa and probably into the south of Namibia, this was the largest subspecies.

Southern black rhinoceros or Cape rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis bicornis) – Extinct.

The most accepted scheme considers seven or eight subspecies, of which three became extinct in historical times and one is on the very brink of extinction: The intraspecific variation in the black rhinoceros was discussed by various authors and is not finally settled. The species overall is classified as critically endangered, and one subspecies, the western black rhinoceros, was declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011. These species are now sometimes referred to as the square-lipped (for white) or hook-lipped (for black) rhinoceros. The word 'white' in the name 'white rhinoceros' is a misinterpretation of the Afrikaans word wyd, itself derived from the Dutch word wijd for wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the black rhinoceros. The other African rhinoceros is the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum).

Although the rhinoceros is referred to as black, its colors vary from brown to gray. The black rhinoceros or hook-lipped rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and central Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola.