South-western black rhino
| South-western black rhinoceros | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Rhinocerotidae |
| Genus: | Diceros |
| Species: | D. bicornis |
| Subspecies: | D. b. occidentalis |
| Trinomial name | |
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Diceros bicornis occidentalis (Zukowsky, 1922) |
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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 vulnerable by the IUCN. The biggest threat towards the subspecies Diceros bicornis occidentalis is illegal poaching.
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.
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.Opsiceros is an invalid synonym of the genus Diceros.
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. They also are most adapted to arid habitat and can be found in arid savanna and desert climates.
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