A
rhinoceros (
/raɪˈnɒsərəs/; from
Ancient Greek ῥῑνόκερως (rhīnókerōs) 'nose-horned'; from
ῥῑνός (rhīnós) 'nose', and
κέρας (kéras) 'horn'
[1]), commonly abbreviated to
rhino, is a member of any of the five
extant species (or numerous extinct species) of
odd-toed ungulates in the
family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily
Rhinocerotoidea.) Two of the extant species are native to
Africa, and three to
South and
Southeast Asia.
Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining
megafauna: all weigh at least one
tonne in adulthood. 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; they rely instead on their lips to pluck food.
Rhinoceros are killed by poachers for
their horns, which are bought and sold on the
black market for high prices, leading to most living rhinoceros species being considered endangered. The contemporary market for rhino horn is overwhelmingly driven by China and
Vietnam, where it is bought by wealthy consumers to use in
traditional Chinese medicine, among other uses. Rhino horns are made of
keratin, the same material as
hair and
fingernails, and there is no good evidence of any health benefits. A market also exists for rhino horn dagger handles in Yemen, which was the major source of demand for rhino horn in the 1970s and 1980s.