South-western black rhinoceros

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South-western black rhinoceros
South-western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis occidentalis) female.jpg
Female, Etosha National Park, Namibia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Genus: Diceros
Species:
Subspecies:
D. b. occidentalis
Trinomial name
Diceros bicornis occidentalis
(Zukowsky, 1922)

The south-western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis occidentalis) is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros, living in southwestern Africa (northern Namibia and southern Angola, introduced to South Africa). It is currently listed as near threatened by the IUCN. The biggest threat towards the subspecies is illegal poaching. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

This subspecies is often mistaken for either the extinct southern black rhinoceros ( D. b. bicornis ) or the southeastern subspecies ( D. b. minor ). However, the populations in the arid areas of northern Namibia and southwestern Angola represent a separate subspecies. [2]

The holotype specimen, a male, was about 16 months old when caught alive by a Mr. Müller in 1914 near the Kunene River (Kaokoveld, border region between Namibia and Angola), and shipped to the Tierpark Hagenbeck, the Hamburg Zoo, in Germany. After its death on 15 October 1916, its hide and skeleton was preserved at the Zoologisches Museum Hamburg (specimen no. 40056) and described as belonging to a new species, Opsiceros occidentalis, by L. Zukowsky in 1922. [3] [4] Opsiceros is an invalid synonym of the genus Diceros . [5]

Description

The south-western black rhino, like all black rhino subspecies, has a distinct prehensile lip and is a browser. Its appearance is similar to other subspecies, the most important difference to them is a relatively broad head behind the eyes and minor features in the dentition. Other characters often mentioned, like body size or the straightness and size of the horns, are subject to individual variation. [5] They also are most adapted to arid habitat and can be found in arid savanna and desert climates.[ citation needed ]

Population and threats

Historically, this subspecies once roamed in Angola, and Namibia, but their current range has decreased. The stronghold of the species is primarily in Namibia. One to four specimens have been reported from Angola and others were introduced to South Africa. Its total population is increasing and numbered to 1,920 animals in 2010, with 55.8% adults. Poaching due to increasing horn prices is considered the main threat to their population. [1] [5] They successfully breed with the south-central black rhinoceros.

IUCN status

The IUCN considers the living northern Namibian black rhino populations to belong to the subspecies D. bicornis bicornis, and does not recognize a separate D. b. occidentalis. [1] This synonymy, based upon du Toit (1987) [6] was, however, considered erroneous by Groves and Grubb (2011), and D. b. occidentalis was re-established as a valid subspecies. As all southernmost populations of black rhinoceros were exterminated by the mid-19th century, D. b. bicornis is completely extinct today. [5]

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Perissodactyla is an order of ungulates. The order includes about 17 living species divided into three families: Equidae, Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceroses), and Tapiridae (tapirs). They typically have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three or one of the five original toes, though tapirs retain four toes on their front feet. The nonweight-bearing toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or positioned posteriorly. By contrast, artiodactyls bear most of their weight equally on four or two of the five toes: their third and fourth toes. Another difference between the two is that perissodactyls digest plant cellulose in their intestines, rather than in one or more stomach chambers as artiodactyls, with the exception of Suina, do.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big five game</span> African game-hunting species

In Africa, the Big five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot, but is now more widely used by game viewing tourists and safari tour operators. They are examples of charismatic megafauna, featuring prominently in popular culture, and are among the most famous of Africa's large animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black rhinoceros</span> Species of mammal

The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern Africa and southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although the species is referred to as black, its colours vary from brown to grey. It is the only extant species of the genus Diceros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhinoceros</span> Family of mammals

A rhinoceros, commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae; it can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea. Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia.

<i>Diceros</i> Genus of Rhinocerotidae

Diceros is a genus of rhinoceros containing the extant black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and several extinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape bushbuck</span> Species of mammal

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">White rhinoceros</span> Largest rhinoceros species

The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists of two subspecies: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 16,803 wild-living animals, and the much rarer northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies has very few remaining individuals, with only two confirmed left in 2018. Sudan, the world's last known male northern white rhinoceros, died in Kenya on 19 March 2018 at age 45.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lechwe</span> Species of mammal

The lechwe, red lechwe, or southern lechwe is an antelope found in wetlands of south-central Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaokoveld</span> Desert ecoregion in Angola and Namibia

The Kaokoveld Desert is a coastal desert of northern Namibia and southern Angola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burchell's zebra</span> Subspecies of zebra

Burchell's zebra is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra. Burchell's zebra is the only subspecies of zebra which may be legally farmed for human consumption.

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The eastern black rhinoceros, also known as the East African black rhinoceros, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. Its numbers are very low due to poaching for its horn, and it is listed as critically endangered.

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The western black rhinoceros or West African black rhinoceros is an extinct subspecies of the black rhinoceros. It was declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011. The western black rhinoceros was believed to have been genetically different from other rhino subspecies. It was once widespread in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa, but its numbers declined due to poaching. The western black rhinoceros resided primarily in Cameroon, but surveys since 2006 have failed to locate any individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South-central black rhinoceros</span> Subspecies of rhino

The south-central black rhinoceros, also known as the south-central hook-lipped rhinoceros or the lesser black rhino, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. In keeping with the rules of zoological nomenclature, the south-central black rhinoceros should be known as Diceros bicornis keitloa, a nomen novum. Although it is the most numerous of the black rhinoceros subspecies, it is nevertheless designated as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Like other black rhinoceros subspecies, it has a prehensile lip and lives in savanna habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern black rhinoceros</span> Extinct subspecies of mammal

The southern black rhinoceros, southern hook-lipped rhinoceros or Cape rhinoceros is an extinct subspecies of the black rhinoceros that was once abundant in South Africa from the Cape Province to Transvaal, southern Namibia, and possibly also Lesotho and southern Botswana. Zoos, animal sanctuaries and conservation centers use this same scientific name as an indicating reference to the surviving south-central black rhinoceros. This former species was brought to extinction by excessive hunting and habitat destruction around 1850.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongalla gazelle</span> Species of mammal

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Emslie, R. (2020). "Diceros bicornis ssp. bicornis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T39318A45814419. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T39318A45814419.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. Groves, C.; Grubb, P. (2011). Ungulate Taxonomy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 317. ISBN   978-1-4214-0093-8 . Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  3. Zukowsky, L. (1922). "Vorläufige Mitteilung über eine neue Art des Spitzschnautz-Nashorns aus Südwest-Afrika" (PDF). Archiv für Naturgeschichte . 88A (7): 162–163.
  4. Rookmaker, L.C. (1998). The Rhinoceros in Captivity. The Hague: SPB Academic Publishing bv. p. 409. ISBN   90-5103-134-3 . Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Groves, C.; Grubb, P. (2011). Ungulate Taxonomy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 317. ISBN   978-1-4214-0093-8 . Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  6. du Toit, R. (1987). "The existing basis for subspecies classification of black and white rhino" (PDF). Pachyderm. 9: 3–5.