Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros, any species of the genus Rhinoceros, constituting a family of Perissodactyle Hoofed Mammals. They are huge creatures, of small intelligence, timid in disposition, but formidable foes when irritated or wounded, for they deal terrible blows with their nasal horns. They form three groups, sometimes raised to generic rank: (1) With a single horn, and the skin arranged in definite folds or shields. Here belong the Indian Rhinoceros (R. unicornis) and the Javan Rhinoceros (R. sondaicus). The latter species, found also in Burma and near Calcutta, is much the smaller, and its shields are differently arranged from those of the Indian form. In the females the horn is small, or it may be wanting. (2) With two horns, and the skin shields less strongly marked than in the first group. The Sumatran Rhinoceros (R. sumatrensis), the smallest living form, is the only member of this group, the Hairy-eared Rhinoceros (R. lasiotis) from Chittagong being probably only a variety. (3) Two well-developed horns and the absence of definite shields characterise the third group, which contains the Black Rhinoceros (R. bicornis), ranging from Abyssinia to the Cape, and the nearly extinct "White" Rhinoceros (R. simus), from the country south of the Zambesi. Both are greyish-black in colour, the latter often the darker. The chief difference is that the former has a prehensile upper lip, and feeds on the branches of trees, and the latter has the upper lip square and grazes. Skins and skeletons of R. simus were brought to England in 1894.