Rhinoceros (genus)

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Late Miocene-Recent {{fossilrange|9|0}}

| oldest_fossil =

| image = Indian_Rhinoceros.jpg

| image_caption = Indian rhinoceros (R. unicornis)

| image2 =

| image2_caption = Javan rhinoceros (R. sondaicus)

| taxon = Rhinoceros

| authority = Linnaeus, 1758

| type_species = Rhinoceros unicornis

| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = *R. unicornis

R. sondaicus

}}

Rhinoceros is a genus comprising one-horned rhinoceroses. This scientific name was proposed by Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.{{cite book |author=Linnæus, C. |year=1758 |title=Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |publisher=Salvius |location=Holmiae |chapter=Rhinoceros unicornis |chapter-url= https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN362053006?tify={%22pages%22:[60],%22view%22:%22info%22} |page=56}} The genus contains two species, the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus). Although both members are threatened, the Javan rhinoceros is one of the most endangered large mammals in the world with only 60 individuals surviving in Java (Indonesia). The word 'rhinoceros' means "nose-horn" in Ancient Greek.{{clarify|date=June 2023|reason=Does this sentence help the reader?}}

Etymology

The genus name Rhinoceros comes from the Ancient Greek words ῥινο- (rhino-), meaning "of the nose" and κέρας (kerás), meaning "horn".{{cite book |last1=Liddell, H. G. |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |last2=Scott, R. |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1940 |edition=Revised and augmented |location=Oxford |chapter=ῥίς |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dr(i%2Fs |name-list-style=amp}}{{cite book |last1=Liddell, H. G. |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |last2=Scott, R. |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1940 |edition=Revised and augmented |location=Oxford |chapter=κέρᾳ |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dke%2Fras |name-list-style=amp}}

Classification

The genus Rhinoceros comprises:

Indian rhinoceros (R. unicornis) {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}} Indian subcontinent
Javan rhinoceros (R. sondaicus) {{small|Desmarest, 1822}}{{cite book |author=Desmarest, A. G. |year=1822 |title=Mammalogie, ou, Description des espèces de mammifères |volume=2 |location=Paris |publisher=Mme Agasse |chapter=Rhinocéros des Îles de La Sonde |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mammalogieoudesc02desm/page/399 |pages=399–400}} Southeast Asia
†R. sivalensis Falconer and Cautley, 1846 northern Indian subcontinent (Siwalik Hills) Pliocene-Early Pleistocene
†R. platyrhinus Falconer and Cautley 1847 syn Punjabitherium Khan (1971) Upper Siwaliks, Indian subcontinent, Early Pleistocene to early Middle Pleistocene, India. Largest species in the genus.{{Cite journal |last1=Pandolfi |first1=Luca |last2=Maiorino |first2=Leonardo |date=2016-02-06 |title=Reassessment of the largest Pleistocene rhinocerotine Rhinoceros platyrhinus (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) from the Upper Siwaliks (Siwalik Hills, India) |url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/148/1489041174.pdf |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=e1071266 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2015.1071266 |bibcode=2016JVPal..36E1266P |issn=0272-4634 |s2cid=86893957}}
†R. sinensis Owen, 1870{{Cite journal|last1=Schepartz|first1=L. A.|last2=Miller-Antonio|first2=S. |date=2010 |title=Taphonomy, life history, and human exploitation of Rhinoceros sinensis at the Middle Pleistocene site of Panxian Dadong, Guizhou, China |journal=International Journal of Osteoarchaeology |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=253–268 |doi=10.1002/oa.1025}} Has been used as a wastebasket taxon{{Cite journal|last=Antoine|first=Pierre-Olivier|date=March 2012|title=Pleistocene and Holocene rhinocerotids (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Indochinese Peninsula|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol|language=en|volume=11|issue=2–3|pages=159–168|doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2011.03.002|bibcode=2012CRPal..11..159A }} used to refer to rhinoceros material from the Pleistocene of China, with various specimens belong to other Rhinoceros species, Dicerorhinus and Stephanorhinus,{{Cite journal|last=Tong|first=Hao-wen|date=November 2012|title=Evolution of the non-Coelodonta dicerorhine lineage in China|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol|language=en|volume=11|issue=8|pages=555–562|doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2012.06.002|bibcode=2012CRPal..11..555T }} though it is possible that some remains attributed to Rhinoceros sinensis represents a valid and distinct species of Rhinoceros.

The earliest remains of the genus are known from the Late Miocene, represented by remains such as an indeterminate species found in deposits in Myanmar dating to around 8-9 million years ago.{{Cite journal |last=Longuet |first=Morgane |last2=Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein |last3=Thaung-Htike |last4=Man-Thit-Nyein |last5=Takai |first5=Masanaru |date=2024-08-02 |title=New fossil remains of Rhinocerotidae (Perissodactyla) from the early Late Miocene Tebingan area, central Myanmar |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2218873 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=36 |issue=8 |pages=1468–1481 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2023.2218873 |issn=0891-2963}}

The species "Rhinoceros" philippinensis from the early Middle Pleistocene of the Philippines and "Rhinoceros" sinensis hayasakai from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of Taiwan have been transferred to Nesorhinus, which appears to be closely related to Rhinoceros.{{Cite journal |last1=Antoine |first1=P.-O. |last2=Reyes |first2=M. C. |last3=Amano |first3=N. |last4=Bautista |first4=A. P. |last5=Chang |first5=C.-H. |last6=Claude |first6=J. |last7=De Vos |first7=J. |last8=Ingicco |first8=T. |year=2021 |title=A new rhinoceros clade from the Pleistocene of Asia sheds light on mammal dispersals to the Philippines |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=194 |issue=2 |pages=416–430 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab009}} While Rhinoceros fusuiensis Yan et al. 2014{{Cite journal |last1=Yan |first1=Yaling |last2=Wang |first2=Yuan |last3=Jin |first3=Changzhu |last4=Mead |first4=Jim I. |date=December 2014 |title=New remains of Rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae, Perissodactyla, Mammalia) associated with Gigantopithecus blacki from the Early Pleistocene Yanliang Cave, Fusui, South China |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618214000135 |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=354 |pages=110–121 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2014.01.004|bibcode=2014QuInt.354..110Y }} from the Early Pleistocene of South China has been transferred to Dicerorhinus.{{Cite journal |last=Pandolfi |first=Luca |date=2023-01-19 |title=Reassessing the phylogeny of Quaternary Eurasian Rhinocerotidae |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.3496 |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |volume=38 |issue=3 |language=en |pages=291–294 |doi=10.1002/jqs.3496 |bibcode=2023JQS....38..291P |s2cid=256167036 |issn=0267-8179|hdl=11563/163194 |hdl-access=free }}

Relationships among Late Pleistocene and modern rhinoceros genera, based on nuclear DNA, after Liu et al, 2021:{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Shanlin |last2=Westbury |first2=Michael V. |last3=Dussex |first3=Nicolas |last4=Mitchell |first4=Kieren J. |last5=Sinding |first5=Mikkel-Holger S. |last6=Heintzman |first6=Peter D. |last7=Duchêne |first7=David A. |last8=Kapp |first8=Joshua D. |last9=von Seth |first9=Johanna |last10=Heiniger |first10=Holly |last11=Sánchez-Barreiro |first11=Fátima |date=16 September 2021 |title=Ancient and modern genomes unravel the evolutionary history of the rhinoceros family |journal=Cell |language=en |volume=184 |issue=19 |pages=4874–4885.e16 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.032 |pmid=34433011 |s2cid=237273079 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=10230/48693}}{{clade|{{clade

|label1=Elasmotheriinae

|1={{extinct}}Elasmotherium sibiricum

|label2=Rhinocerotinae

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

|2=White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

}}

|2={{clade

|label1=Rhinoceros

|1={{clade

|1=Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)

|2=Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

}}

|label2=

|2={{clade

|1=Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

|2={{clade

|1={{extinct}} Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis)

|2={{extinct}} Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis)

}}

}}|style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%}}Bayesian morphological phylogeny after Pandolfi, 2023 Note: This excludes living African rhinoceros species.{{Cite journal |last=Pandolfi |first=Luca |date=April 2023 |title=Reassessing the phylogeny of Quaternary Eurasian Rhinocerotidae |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |language=en |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=291–294 |bibcode=2023JQS....38..291P |doi=10.1002/jqs.3496 |issn=0267-8179 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11563/163194}}{{Clade|{{clade

|label1=Rhinocerotina

|1={{Clade

|1=Gaindatherium browni

|2=Lartetotherium sansaniense

}}

|2={{Clade

|1={{Clade

| label1=Nesorhinus

| label2=Rhinoceros

|1={{Clade

|1=Nesorhinus hayasakai

|2=Nesorhinus philippinensis