Which is the largest species of rhinoceros?

The white rhinoceros or square-lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists of two subspecies: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 19,682–21,077 wild-living animals in the year 2015, and the much rarer northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies had very few remaining, with only three confirmed individuals left in 2015 (two females; Fatu, 15 and Najin, 25: and one male; Sudan, 42), all in captivity.

The white rhinoceros is the largest of the five species of rhinoceros. It weighs slightly more on average than a hippopotamus despite a considerable mass overlap between these two species. It has a massive body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. The head and body length is 3.7 to 4 m (12.1 to 13.1 ft) in males and 3.4 to 3.65 m (11.2 to 12.0 ft) in females, with the tail adding another 70 cm (28 in) and the shoulder height is 170 to 186 cm (5.58 to 6.10 ft) in the male and 160 to 177 cm (5.25 to 5.81 ft) in the female. The male, averaging about 2,300 kg (5,070 lb) is heavier than the female, at an average of about 1,700 kg (3,750 lb). The largest size the species can attain is not definitively known, specimens of up to 3,600 kg (7,940 lb) are considered reliable.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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43 Comments

carlthedad

Wrong!!!! The great one horned or Indian Rhinoceros is the largest species of Rhino. Always has been.

William Laughlin

This article is out of date. Sudan, the male, died in March of 2018. The two females are his daughter and his granddaughter. Essentially, the Northern White Rhino species is finished unless in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques can be developed.

Honini

Wrong again:The greater one-horned rhino (or “Indian rhino”) is the largest of the rhino species.

Shelley Adams

wrong ..... one horned or Indian Rhino !

Fleuriefirst

I quote form worldwildlife.org FACTS The greater one-horned rhino (or “Indian rhino”) is the largest of the rhino species. Once widespread across the entire northern part of the Indian sub-continent, rhino populations plummeted as they were hunted for sport or killed as agricultural pests. This pushed the species very close to extinction and by the start of the 20th century, around 200 wild greater one-horned rhinos remained.

Susan Lake-Harris

The population of white (and other) rhino has been decimated by trophy hunters and poachers. Terrible.

Jas Newman

Additional trivia, they are not white. The name derives from the Afrikaans "wyd," which means "wide"—a description of their mouth, adapted for browsing on grass.