South-western black rhinoceros

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South-western black rhinoceros
Female, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Genus: Diceros
Species:
D. bicornis
Subspecies:
D. b. occidentalis
Trinomial name
Diceros bicornis occidentalis
(Zukowsky, 1922)

The south-western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis occidentalis) is a

IUCN. The biggest threat towards the subspecies is illegal poaching.[1]

Taxonomy

This subspecies is often mistaken for either the extinct southern black rhinoceros (

D. b. minor). However, the populations in the arid areas of northern Namibia and southwestern Angola represent a separate subspecies.[2]

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

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

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]

References

Wikispecies has information related to Diceros bicornis occidentalis.
  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T39318A45814419.en
    . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. 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. ISBN 90-5103-134-3
    . Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  5. ^
    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.
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