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Rhinoceros: Difference between revisions
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Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining megafauna: all weigh at least one tonne in adulthood. They have a herbivorous diet, small brains 400–600 g (14–21 oz) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in), protective skin formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter when necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths; they rely instead on their lips to pluck food. | Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining megafauna: all weigh at least one tonne in adulthood. They have a herbivorous diet, small brains 400–600 g (14–21 oz) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in), protective skin formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter when necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths; they rely instead on their lips to pluck food. | ||
== Taxonomy and classification == | |||
The family Rhinocerotidae consists of five extant species, all of which belong to the same genus, Rhinoceros. These species are: | |||
# Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) | |||
# Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) | |||
# Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) | |||
# Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) | |||
# White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) | |||
== Threats to the rhinoceros == | == Threats to the rhinoceros == | ||