The black rhinoceros is a browsing rhinoceros species native to eastern and southern Africa, smaller than the white rhinoceros and distinguished by a pointed, prehensile upper lip adapted for grasping leaves and shoots rather than grazing grass. It is generally more solitary and more aggressive than the white rhinoceros, and like other rhino species it carries two horns of keratin used in territorial and defensive displays. Intensive poaching for its horn, driven by demand in some traditional medicine and luxury markets, drove the black rhinoceros population down by around 98 percent between the 1960s and the 1990s, and although numbers have partially recovered under strict protection, the species remains classified as critically endangered.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to People Relationship to PeopleUsed in Traditional Medicine 1 Living or ExtinctDerived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status (w-bfill-g5-0924 browse backfill). Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceKnown as the hooked-lip rhinoceros for its pointed, prehensile upper lip, distinct from the white rhinoceros's square lip, and carrying two keratin horns with the larger front horn typically about 50 centimeters long. 1 Scientific Name Conservation Status Population Estimate Connections
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Africa, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Botswana, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Eswatini, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Mozambique, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Namibia, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: South Africa, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Zimbabwe, found in there.
Sources
1. Black Rhinoceros (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, sentence 1
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.
Lead paragraph, sentence 3
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.
Lead paragraph, sentence 3 (final clause)
The IUCN estimates that 3,142 mature individuals remain in the wild.
Body text, paragraph 2 and Dimensions section
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.
View the Source 2. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
3. Black Rhinoceros (Wikipedia)
4. GBIF Species API
Wikidata: Black Rhinoceros
Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: PerissodactylaView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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