Talk:Rhinoceros

RHINO, RHINO, RHINO, RHINO, RHINO, RHINO, RHINO, RHINO...RHINOMAN!!!!!!

RHINOMAN IS HERE TO KILL YOU BETTER WATCH OUT FOR THE ONE...AND ONLY...RHINOMAN!!!!!!

White Rhino

THE CAUCASIAN VERSION OF RHINOMAN!!!!!!

Deadliest Wildlife?

RHINOMAN KILL YOU!!!

Endangered status vs. horn

The section on the rhino horn only has one sentence about the horn and many more about the edangered status... Should we add a new section for information about the rhino's endagered status, and maybe add the horn info to another section?

And it doesn't say what the horn is for. ErikHaugen (talk) 07:58, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Recent Research

According to recent research from the University at Buffalo, "the modern animal that has no predators in the wild, except for man, is the rhinoceros and that probably was the case as long as nine million years ago".

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/04/040407081342.htm http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/article-page.html?article=66420009

(2004-04-14T03:43+0000)

Nocturnal?

These animals are linked from Nocturnal animal but are they really nocturnal? NormalAsylum (t) 02:39, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

can someone please post comments on the digestin system for rhinosoruses??

African cookery

The legs and feet of the rhinoceros are cooked in the following fashion by certain tribes in the south of Africa. First, one would find an ant nest, composed of hard clay and shaped roughly like a baker's oven, ranging from two to four feet in height. Then, one would hollow them out, removing the ants in the process. The space thus obtained is filled with burning wood, until the bottom and sides become red hot within. The embers of the wood are then removed, the leg or foot of the rhinoceros introduced, and a door closed up with heated clay and embers. Fire is then also made on the outside, covering the nest, and the meat is left to cook for several hours. This dish is considered a delicacy by many of the native tribes.

This information sounds bogus, please provide references, or at least tell which tribes do this.

I moved the above by anon from a comment to the talk page.Leibniz 18:13, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

Sources

The original version of the Nature's Firefighter section is word for word the same as found in the SOS Rhino FAQ. Since the wiki version changed the next day, its likely it was copied from the SOS faq rather than the other way. The first two paragraphs are still more or less the same. Perhaps someone should rewrite it?

rhinoceros

the indian rhinoceros has one horn (both male and female), and its skin has loose folds and rivet-like knobs which make it appear armored. A female indian rhino weights about 140000lb

Added plurals

Marked it as a minor edit, but I added the two plural forms of the name. My source was Dictionary.com[1]. Runa27 21:28, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Hybrid

Does anybody know of any instance of hybridization between rhino species?. I have searched the internet endlessly and have found nothing on the subject. If nobody knows, I would at least like to hear opinions on the matter. P.S. If this post looks familiar it is because I typed the same message on Talk:Ratite & Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds, except it was about ratites, not rhinos.

I have been checking this entry daily for weeks and still no answer. PLEASE!!!!!!! the next person to look at this discussion, write your opinion or show me a more public place to write this question.

It's impossible for hybridization to occur between different genera. All rhinos have their own genus, so....... Jerkov 18:30, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

It so happens that it is not impossible & I have heard of & seen a great many intergeneric hybrids & even some that cross family boundaries (documented, not just rumors).

How about the fourth bullet point in the reference section - *Robinson, Terry J. (2005). "Interspecific hybridisation in rhinoceroses: Confirmation of a Black × White rhinoceros hybrid by karyotype, fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and microsatellite analysis". Conservation Genetics. 6 (1): 141–145. doi:10.1007/s10592-004-7750-9. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) -- ALoan (Talk) 20:26, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't see the fourth bullet point. Could you quote? P.S. Excuse me for not writing the date on the other ocasions but I do not remember when I made the first & second statement & my third statement was a few minutes ago. I am the guy who posted the question. 20:40, 24 July 2006

I quoted the whole thing above! See the link above to the abstract of a paper on "Interspecific hybridisation in rhinoceroses: Confirmation of a Black × White rhinoceros hybrid ..." -- ALoan (Talk) 20:42, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry but, I'm not used to reading such pages. I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say bullet point. If it means what I think it means, I do not see a fourth one in the page. 20:48, 24 July 2006

My mistake, I thought you were making a comment on my reply to the last person to answer the page, and not to the original statement. I see the point now but I still don't see where the fourth bullet point fits in with this. 20:49, 24 July 2006

Sorry - let me be more explicit. There is a section towards the end of the article Rhinoceros (not on this page, which is the talk page, Talk:Rhinoceros) entitled "References". That section has four bullet points. The fourth bullet point refers to the paper in Conservation Genetics by Robinson et al, to which I give a link above. -- ALoan (Talk) 21:42, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I must be blind because I didn't notice till now that you had wrote *reference section* in your first quote. I see now. Back to your point... According to that article a confirmed hybrid between the african rhinos has been found? What was it's age, behaviour & morphology? Do they have any pictures? Where was it found? How come, despite my searches, I never came across such an article?. - 12:00, 25 July 2006

So genetically crossing species from different genera is possible! I take it they must still be in the same family? Jerkov 23:12, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Usually they are from the same family, but that is not always the case. Most clasification schemes place the guineafowl in a different family from the chicken & peafowl & I have seen fotographs of guinea hybrids with both species: Guin-hens & Pea-guineas. For fotos see [2]

Extinction

How can this passage from the article be correct?:

Rhinos became extinct during the Pliocene in North America, and during the Pleistocene in northern Asia and Europe.

If they became extinct, how are they still living?

Jeffme 05:24, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Enphasis in the words North America, Asia and Europe. It is possible for an animal to become extinct in certain places without becoming extinct worldwide. It's called localized extinction and it did indeed happen to the native rhinos of the aformentioned places.

Speed

I came to this article hoping to find out how fast they can run, but didn't see it mentioned anywhere. Then I googled it to see if I could figure it out and possibly add it in here, but the first four hits had four different answers! 40mph, 45kph (27mph), 30mph, and 35mph. Some of those are for black rhinos and some white, but still... .

Anyone who knows something want to take a stab at something more definitive? Blurble 15:57, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe you should just say "Between 30 & 40 mph". - 17:56, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

info to put in relation with rhino horn

Scientists Crack Rhino Horn Riddle Monday Nov 06, 2006. http://news.research.ohiou.edu/news/index.php?item=338

It's apparently quite new and important> The study also ends speculation that the horn was simply a clump of modified hair. ++

Hmmm. I'm no biologist but this sounds important, and yet the third paragraph of the introduction of this Wikipedia article says that the horn is hair. And then under the section "Rhinoceros horns" it says it's keratin.Batman080580 19:48, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

The source for the statement about the horn being hair says nothing of the sort. And the statements about hair and keratin are not contradictory hair is made of keratin.

Should there be something in the horn section on the use/function/purpose of the horn by the animal and not just its use by humans. are "docked' rhinos at a disadvantage for self defense or grubbing up food ?--— ⦿⨦⨀Tumadoireacht ^Talk/_Stalk 02:40, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

Redirect

Shouldn't "Rhino" redirect here? instead of the disambiguation? 8thstar 18:32, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Groups

Does anyone know if a rhinoceros lives in a group or a small family? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.154.22.72 (talk) 23:29, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

Who edited the new introduction to this page..it had merit. I vote to change it back. Blurble

So do i 8thstar

and me ALoan kira these are rhinos that are extincd and are still alive) Acerorhinus (extinct) Alicornops (extinct) Aphelops (extinct) Chilotheridium (extinct) Chilotherium (extinct) Dromoceratherium (extinct) Floridaceras (extinct) Hoploaceratherium (extinct) Mesaceratherium (extinct) Peraceras (extinct) Plesiaceratherium (extinct) Proaceratherium (extinct) Sinorhinus (extinct) Subchilotherium (extinct) Tribe Teleoceratini Aprotodon (extinct) Brachydiceratherium (extinct) Brachypodella (extinct) Brachypotherium (extinct) Diaceratherium (extinct) Prosantorhinus (extinct) Shennongtherium (extinct) Teleoceras (extinct) Tribe Rhinocerotini Gaindatherium (extinct) Rhinoceros - Indian & Javan Rhinoceros Tribe Dicerorhinini Coelodonta - Woolly Rhinoceros (extinct) Dicerorhinus - Sumatran Rhinoceros Dihoplus (extinct) Lartetotherium (extinct) Stephanorhinus (extinct) Tribe Ceratotheriini Ceratotherium - White Rhinoceros Tribe Dicerotini Diceros - Black Rhinoceros Paradiceros (extinct) Subfamily Elasmotheriinae Gulfoceras (extinct) Tribe Diceratheriini Diceratherium (extinct) Subhyracodon (extinct) Trigodon (extinct) Tribe Elasmotheriini Bugtirhinus (extinct) Caementodon (extinct) Elasmotherium - Giant Unicorn (extinct) Hispanotherium (extinct) Huaqingtherium (extinct) Iranotherium (extinct) Kenyatherium (extinct) Menoceras (extinct) Ougandatherium (extinct) Parelasmotherium (extinct) Procoelodonta (extinct) Sinotherium (extinct) Subfamily Arsinotherinae Tribe Arsinotheriini rhinos are friends not fou ok by kira

Habits of Black Rhino vs. White Rhino

I would like to see a little more information on the habits of the various species, such as feeding, breeding, etc.

The park rangers at Kruger National Park, and at Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Park have pointed out that the White Rhino is primarily a ground feeder, while the Black Rhino is primarily an above-ground feeder. Indeed, one of the main reasons that the Black Rhino is much harder to see in South Africa is because it is usually spending most of its time in thick brush and wooded areas, feeding off of the leaves and branches. In contrast, the White Rhinos are very easily spotted grazing in open areas.

Is there a way to tell the difference between the Northern and Southern White Rhinos? What is the range of these two subspecies? Is it mainly a geographical distinction, or are there biological differences? John85730 21:51, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Hi John, I guess this isn't obvious enough from the article. If you look at the pages for each of the species you can find the information you're talking about. Here are the articles: Sumatran Rhinoceros, Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros and the Black Rhinoceros. --JayHenry 23:13, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

List

The very long list of red links should be moved to the end of the article not to break the prose flow.--SidiLemine 12:15, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

excell. new img:delete this when well placed

Horn Composition

The first paragraph of this article contained an incorrect assertion about the composition of the rhino horn, which actually contradicted statements made later on in the article. I have corrected and sourced it. Lumbergh 15:06, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm altering the phrasing a bit because the way it's stated might be a bit confusing. --CKeelty 14:53, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Horn medicinal uses

The statement that the horn is efficacious in reducing fever and convulsions was not followed by a reference to an emprical study. As such, this suggestion was removed and should remain so unless clear scientific support for the efficacy of the horn in treating fevers and convulsions may be foundJamesStewart7 07:54, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Rhinoceros framework

I'm trying to develop a general structure for Javan Rhinoceros that would work for all rhino articles. Currently, the structure I have is mostly modeled after Lion and Pygmy Hippopotamus. I have the case of the Javan Rhinoceros below, and I'm actually pretty happy with this structure. I like combining the major in situ and ex situ projects under the conservation heading, though many animal articles seem to break "in zoos" or "in captivity" into a "relation with humans" category. This didn't seem appropriate to me -- at least for the Javan Rhino -- because they essentially have no relations with humans beyond conservation. I find that habitat, distribution and conservation have a tremendous amount of overlap, so I'm never sure the best way to divide it up.

• 1 Taxonomy and origins
  • 1.1 Evolution (which links back to the main article at Rhinoceros#Evolution)
  • (Maybe make "Subspecies" its own subhead here)
• 2 Description (or "Physical characteristics," I see no need for subcats for the rhino species)
• 3 Distribution and habitat
• 4 Behavior (for the other rhino species "social life" would be here as well)
  • 4.1 Diet
  • 4.2 Reproduction
• 5 Conservation
  • 5.1 Ujung Kulon
  • 5.2 Cat Tien
  • 5.3 Javan rhinos in zoos
• (For Indian Rhinoceros, at least, a cultural depictions section might be called for)
• 6 References
• 7 External links

If anybody's watching this page and has any suggestions input would be much appreciated. --JayHenry 05:16, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Adjusted per guidance at Javan Rhinoceros FAC. Placed distribution above behavior. --JayHenry 06:28, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Rhinoceros itself

And, as long as I'm talking to myself, I might as well muse about the state of Rhinoceros. I recently added each of the species as a level 3 subhead. I think this is the ideal use of summary style. Makes it clear, just from skimming the table of contents, what the five species are. Also I think it's obviously essential to briefly summarize the species. Following this, a comprehensive section on Rhinoceros evolution, including a discussion of extinct rhinoceros seems about right. I'm unsure about the list of tribes and genera that's currently included. I can't tell what the source for this particular tree is, and it varies quite a bit from other trees. A physical description section could include the basic physical characteristics that rhinos share and then perhaps a table that compares various aspects of the different species' size and behavior. Next, although specific in-situ and ex-situ conservation efforts are probably best suited for the individual species, the issue of the trade in rhinoceros and its use in Traditional Chinese Medicine is probably best-suited for here. The rhino horn trade transcends species. Also I think the Cultural Depictions section should mostly be here. In Europe the earliest rhinos were Indian: Durer's, Clara, etc., but the rhinoceros "in popular culture" has been mostly non-speciated. Does anyone have other ideas of what material is needed here to make this comprehensive? Or different suggestions for structure? --JayHenry 22:38, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Plural

I suggest that the only linguistically acceptable plural of 'rhinoceros' is 'rhinocerotes'.The word was Greek before being assimilated into Latin, and 'rhinoceri' is particularly unacceptable.Colcestrian 01:38, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

I can't find a English dictionary that has anything but rhinoceros or rhinoceroses for the plural. Etymology should not matter in this case.

Of course the plural in English is rhinoceroses. There's a term for examples like that above which assumes that rhinocerotes is valid (or even preferable) because of Greek grammar. Rhinocerotes is an example of "hypercorrection". It is completely incorrect; no academic source has ever used it, to my knowledge. --JayHenry (talk) 18:28, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

In English, the plural depends on the usage. "Rhinoceros" as an individual animal is pluralized "rhinoceri". "Rhinoceros" as an entire species, however, should be pluralized "rhinoceroses". In general, the pluralization of the entire species always adds an "s", ignoring all other rules. Examples: deer, deer, deers; goose, geese, gooses; mouse, mice, mouses. Bob the Wikipedian, the Tree of Life WikiDragon (talk) 16:59, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Bob, I've read an extremely wide selection of zoological and conservation literature about the rhino and I don't believe that's correct. As far as I can tell rhinoceri is not in common use among people that study rhinos. I've never seen this rule about rhinoceri. Where did that come from? I'm open to being proved incorrect. --JayHenry (talk) 22:55, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm speaking as a layperson here, not a rhino scientist. At least around here, it is pretty well agreed among laypersons that it's rhinoceri. Whether that is true is another story. Thanks for flagging me on that...this may be another one of those words that people can't seem to get right, "irregardless" :) of the amount of literature they read. Bob the Wikipedian, the Tree of Life WikiDragon (talk) 02:04, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Wiktionary on Rhinoceros. You'll see here that I was wrong about "rhinoceri". Apparently it's a common mistake. I'll try to make sure I point that out next time someone says it.  :) Bob the Wikipedian, the Tree of Life WikiDragon (talk) 02:08, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

I wonder if part of the reason people like to say rhinoceri is an association with hippopotami. I think a lot of people associate the hippopotamus and rhinoceros. Hippopotami actually is used occasionally and still recognized in most dictionaries, thus probably contributing to the perception that rhinoceri is as well. Just a theory though, thanks for looking into this! --JayHenry (talk) 02:38, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Taxobox image

I don't see any improvements in the new taxobox image. I vote we revert it to the old one, which was more close-up and detailed. Bob the Wikipedian, the Tree of Life WikiDragon (talk) 16:48, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

I agree. The photo should give a really good idea of what the animal looks like. We should imagine that the picture is selected for someone who has never before seen a rhino. --JayHenry (talk) 02:39, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Reverting the image. Any objections, take them up here. Bob the Wikipedian, the Tree of Life WikiDragon (talk) 02:44, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Etymologie

"The word "rhinoceros" (ῤινόκερως) is derived from the Greek words rhino, meaning nose, and kera"

I changed in the Greek word Omikron against Omega.

With Omikron it is Modern Greek. But I suppose etymologie is done with ancient Greek, were you have an Omega. See f.e. Strabo 16.4.15 or Aelianus "De Natura Animalium" 17.44. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.58.247.31 (talk) 07:54, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

White / Wyd

The article contains the assertion that the term "White" is a corruption of an Afrikaans word, "wyd", meaning "broad". That belief is certainly widespread, but no evidence for it is offered in the article and the assertion has been (to my eye) quite carefully debunked; here's an article by Kees Rookmaaker in a 2003 edition of Pachyderm, the journal of the African Elephant, African Rhino and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups: [3]. It concludes that the etymology was invented in the 1950s and "It is ... impossible that white in white rhinoceros is a corruption of wijd or any other Dutch or Afrikaans word of the early 19th century…. This derivation should no longer be used in popular texts to explain the name of the rhinoceros called 'white'."

I don't claim sufficient expertise on this subject to edit the page at the moment - is anyone else familiar with this issue? Piers Fletcher (talk) 15:44, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

The bird that eats the parasites of rhinos (at least in Africa) isn't mentioned anywhere, also not in the main articles of the different rhinos.

Ch!pzdance (talk) 17:17, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

DO RHINOS MATE FOR EVER

DO RHINOS MATE FOR EVER! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.159.123.65 (talk) 23:07, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

No, just for 2-3 minutes, just like we humans. Mike R (talk) 21:48, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

LOL! Nice one Mike! :) DaveDodgy (talk) 16:34, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Dürer's woodcut

For someone who had never seen one, that "inaccurate depiction" actually looks remarkably accurate. Indeed, as I was reading through this article, and saw the picture of the Indian rhino, my first thought was "Wow - that looks just like that famous old engraving!"

More importantly (given that the talk page should be for discusing improvements to the article, rather than just commenting on the subject), the words "without ever seeing the animal depicted" are ambiguous and confusing - I read it as meaning he had never seen a depiction of the animal, rather than (presumably) meaning he hadn't seed the animal that he was depicting. I have reworded it to be clearer and in agreement with the article on Dürer's_Rhinoceros. Wardog (talk) 09:45, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Highest number of chromosomes of all mammals?

This article mentions the Black Rhino has the highest number of chromosomes of all mammals (84). But I also found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyomys_pittieri (which has 92).

That reference looks pretty reliable, so I'll make the edit. If anyone can find something reliable and contradictory, revert or add a bit about that dispute?TjoeC (talk) 19:41, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

unicorn/rhinoceros?

I seem to be missing a bit of info regarding medieval warping of the image of the rhinoceros due to description of it surviving only through Classical texts. In due time the rhinoceros became a unicorn and an iconographic background was laid.

Der Neue Pauly: Enzyklopädie der Antike, 8th part, page 722, lemma Nashorn —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.125.176.73 (talk) 14:13, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Rhino horn medicine

Don't African tribes believe that rhino horns induce boners? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 171.66.90.248 (talk) 21:15, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

Category

Shouldn't Rhinoceros be included in Category:Dinosaurs? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.49.23.173 (talk) 15:09, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

No, since they're not in any way dinosaurs, but rather prehistoric-looking mammals.TjoeC (talk) 19:38, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

genus names

In the section about taxonomy and naming, I am confused because it says that the black and white rhino belong to the same genus (Diceros), but the section about the white rhino places it in the Ceratotherium genus. Melissa.k.d (talk) 17:56, 11 March 2011 (UTC)

File:Java-1934.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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Sumatran rhinoceros hair

As far as I can tell, the Sumatran rhinoceros doesn't have fur, but a sparse coat of guard hairs. Because guard hairs usually don't provide any thermoregulatory benefits in other mammals, the claim that hair allows the Sumatran rhino to live at high elevation is dubious. I've removed it: but, if there is a good source for it, it can be reinstated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tennesseellum (talk • contribs) 21:07, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

Kneeless?

That must be a joke or something. The femur connects to the tibia the same as any other tetrapod. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.73.70.113 (talk) 04:39, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Taxonomy and naming

I have removed the sentence on the two subspecies of White Rhino as this is already covered, in more detail, in the 'White Rhino' Section of the article.

I have also removed the sentence on the supposed origins of the White Rhino's name, which again is already covered in the 'White Rhino' Section.Glevum (talk) 05:05, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

White Rhino

Modifed using info from the wiki article on the White RhinosGlevum (talk) 05:05, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Evolution: Indricotherium

First, it should apparently be Paraceratherium, not Indricotherium. Second, the measurements given for this rhino ancestor are much larger than those given in the Paraceratherium article. Which ones are correct? -- 37.251.47.38 (talk) 18:45, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

Oh, it gets worse. The image lower on the page, beside the list of genera, has yet different measurements for Indricotherium/Paraceratherium. -- 37.251.47.38 (talk) 18:55, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 January 2014

In the wild, black rhinoceroses are preyed upon by humans and lions. Brain, C., Forge, O. & Erb, P. (1999). Lion predation on black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) in Etosha National Park. Afr. J. Ecol. 37: 107–109. (http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175858056.pdf)

Thanks, but this article already mentions that young rhinos can be preyed upon by big cats, and Black rhinoceros mentions lions specifically. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 00:49, 20 January 2014 (UTC)