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Hello Steemians, I have something interesting to share with you. For the love of animals, nature and wildlife preservation.

RHINOCEROS
A rhinoceros (/raɪˈnɒsərəs/, from Greek rhinokeros, meaning 'nose-horned', from rhinos, meaning 'nose', and keratos, meaning 'horn'), often abbreviated to rhino, is one of any five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae, as well as any of the numerous extinct species.

Two of the extant species are native to Africa and three to Southern Asia.

Rhinoceros
Temporal range: Eocene–Present
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Diceros bicornis.jpg
A Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) at the Saint Louis Zoo.
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Superfamily: Rhinocerotoidea
Family: Rhinocerotidae

Members of the rhinoceros family are some of the largest remaining megafauna, with all species able to reach or exceed one tonne in weight.

They have a herbivorous diet, small brains (400–600 g) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick (1.5–5 cm) protective skin formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure.

They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter when necessary.

Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths, relying instead on their lips to pluck food.

Rhinoceros are killed by humans for their horns, which are bought and sold on the black market, and which are used by some cultures for ornamental or traditional medicinal purposes.

East Asia, specifically Vietnam, is the largest market for rhino horns. By weight, rhino horns cost as much as gold on the black market. People grind up the horns and consume them, believing the dust has therapeutic properties.

The horns are made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails.[4] Both African species and the Sumatran rhinoceros have two horns, while the Indian and Javan rhinoceros have a single horn.

The plural in English is rhinoceros or rhinoceroses. The collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses is crash or herd. The name has been in use since the 14th century.

The family Rhinocerotidae consists of only four extant genera: Ceratotherium (White rhinoceros), Dicerorhinus (Sumatran rhinoceros), Diceros (Black rhinoceros) and Rhinoceros (Indian and Javan rhinoceros). The living species fall into three categories. The two African species, the white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros, belong to the tribe Dicerotini, which originated in the middle Miocene, about 14.2 million years ago.

The species diverged during the early Pliocene (about 5 million years ago). The main difference between black and white rhinos is the shape of their mouths – white rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing, whereas black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage.

There are two living Rhinocerotini species, the Indian rhinoceros and the Javan rhinoceros, which diverged from one another about 10 million years ago. The Sumatran rhinoceros is the only surviving representative of the most primitive group, the Dicerorhinini, which emerged in the Miocene (about 20 million years ago).

PREDATORS

Adult rhinoceros have no real predators in the wild, other than humans. Young rhinos can however fall prey to big cats, crocodiles, wild dogs, and hyenas.

There are more interesting facts about RHINO'S. I hope you enjoyed your lengthy but educative piece.

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