Black rhinoceros Temporal range: Pliocene - Recent
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A south-central black rhinoceros (D. b. minor) in South Africa | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | Rhinocerotidae |
Genus: | Diceros |
Species: | D. bicornis
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Binomial name | |
Diceros bicornis | |
Subspecies | |
Diceros bicornis bicornis † | |
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Historical black rhinoceros range (ca. 1700 A.D.).[3] Hatched: Possible historical range in West Africa.[4] | |
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Current black rhinoceros range Extant, resident Extinct Extant & Reintroduced (resident) Extant & Assisted Colonisation (resident)
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Synonyms | |
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The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis sometimes also called the hook-lipped rhinoceros) is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern Africa and southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, 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 other African rhinoceros is the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). The word "white" in the name "white rhinoceros" is often said to be a misinterpretation of the Afrikaans word wyd (Dutch wijd) meaning wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the black rhinoceros. These species are now sometimes referred to as the square-lipped (for white) or hook-lipped (for black) rhinoceros.[5]
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.[6][7] The IUCN estimates that 3,142 mature individuals remain in the wild.[1]
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