Black rhinoceros gestation period skin#

The word rhinoceros is derived through Latin from the Ancient Greek: ῥῑνόκερως, which is composed of ῥῑνο- ( rhino-, 'nose') and κέρας ( keras, ' horn') with a horn on the nose.

See also: List of perissodactyls RhinocerotidaeĬladogram following a phylogenetic study. A market also exists for rhino horn dagger handles in Yemen, which was the major source of demand for rhino horn in the 1970s and 1980s. Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same material as hair and fingernails, and there is no good evidence of any health benefits. The contemporary market for rhino horn is overwhelmingly driven by China and Vietnam, where it is bought by wealthy consumers to use in traditional Chinese medicine, among other uses. Rhinoceroses are killed by poachers for their horns, which are bought and sold on the black market for high prices, leading to most living rhinoceros species being considered endangered. 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. 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.

Black rhinoceros gestation period skin#

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. Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining megafauna: all weigh at least one tonne in adulthood. Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia.

A rhinoceros ( / r aɪ ˈ n ɒ s ər ə s/ from Ancient Greek ῥῑνόκερως ( rhīnókerōs) 'nose-horned' from ῥῑ́ς ( rhī́s) 'nose', and κέρας ( kéras) 'horn' ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct 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).