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A rhinoceros (/ r aɪ ˈ n ɒ s ər ə s / ry-NOSS-ə-rəss; from Ancient Greek ῥινόκερως (rhinókerōs) 'nose-horned'; from ῥίς (rhis) 'nose' and κέρας (kéras) 'horn'; [1] pl.: rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family ...
In rhinos, the horn is not attached to bone, but grows from the surface of a dense skin tissue, anchoring itself by creating bone irregularities and rugosities. [29] The outermost layer cornifies. [30] As the layers age, the horn loses diameter by degradation of the keratin due to ultraviolet light, drying out, and continual wearing. [31]
The genus name Rhinoceros is a combination of the ancient Greek words ῥίς (ris) meaning 'nose' and κέρας (keras) meaning 'horn of an animal'. [13] [14] sondaicus is derived from sunda, the biogeographical region that comprises the islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and surrounding smaller islands.
The front horn is larger than the other horn and averages 60 cm (24 in) in length and can reach 166 cm (65 in) in females. [9] [7] Females usually have longer but thinner horns than the males, who have larger but shorter ones. The southern white rhinoceros also has a prominent muscular hump that supports its large head.
The species was first named Rhinoceros bicornis by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema naturae in 1758. The name means "double-horned rhinoceros". There is some confusion about what exactly Linnaeus conceived under this name as this species was probably based upon the skull of a single-horned Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), with a second horn artificially added by the ...
Each has a horn on the head and another horn pointing forward from the center of the thorax. The horns are used in fighting other males during mating season, and for digging. The size of the horn is a good indicator of nutrition and physical health. [5] The body of an adult rhinoceros beetle is covered by a thick exoskeleton. A pair of thick ...
As with many other species, the two main factors in the decline of the Vietnamese Javan rhinoceros populations has been loss of habitat combined with over-hunting. Poaching for horns, a problem that affects all rhino species. The horns have been a traded commodity for more than 2,000 years in China, where they are believed to have healing ...
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