Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Black rhinoceros


The Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), also colloquially Black Rhino, is a mammal in the order Perissodactyla, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Although the Rhino is referred to as black, it is actually more of a grey/brown/white color in appearance.
The name of the species was chosen to distinguish it from the
White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). This is misleading, as those two species are not really distinguishable by color. The word white in the name "White Rhinoceros" derives from the Afrikaans word for "wide" rather than the color white.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) announced on
7 July 2006 that one of the four subspecies, the West African Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes), has been tentatively declared as extinct.[1]

No comments: