Rhinoceros
| Rhinoceros | |
|---|---|
| 200px | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom Information | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum Information | |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class Information | |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order Information | |
| Order | Perissodactyla |
| Family Information | |
| Family | Rhinocerotidae |
| Genus Information | |
| Genus | Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros |
| Species Information | |
| Species | C. simum D. sumatrensis D. bicornis R. unicornis R. sondaicus |
| Population statistics | |
| |
| Population | Less than 5,000 |
| Conservation status | Endangered |
Rhinoceros (Greek: ῥῑνόκερως; rhinos and κέρας keras; "nose-horn") refers to several large pachydermatous herbivorous land mammals of Africa and Asia, which bear one or two nasal horns. Rhinoceros have poor vision but a good sense of smell, and despite their size - which is exceeded only by elephants - they can quickly face danger and charge at speeds up to 35 mph.
Five species are in existence today, but severely-reduced in numbers; four species currently are near the brink of extinction as a result of the illegal trade in rhino horns:
- White or square-lipped rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum
- Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis
- Indian rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis
- Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus
- Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
A number of extinct varieties are also known, notably the woolly rhinoceros of the Ice Age, a contemporary of the Woolly Mammoth. Several frozen corpses of this animal have been discovered in the Siberian permafrost.