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RhinocerosThe Rhinoceros , often colloquially abbreviated rhino, is one of any five surviving species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia. Three of the five species the (Black, Javan and Sumatran Rhinoceros) are critically endangered, and another, the Indian Rhinoceros, is endangered.The rhinoceros family is characterised by large size (one of the few remaining megafauna surviving today) with all of the species capable of reaching one ton or more in weight; herbivorous diet; and a thick protective skin, 1.5-5 cm thick, formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure; relatively small brains for mammals this size (400-600g); and its large and frightening horn. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist more fibrous plant matter, if necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths, relying instead on their powerful premolar and molar teeth to grind up plant food. The rhino is prized for its horn. The horns of a rhinoceros are made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair, but the horn is not itself made of hair as previously believed. Rhinoceros also have acute hearing and sense of smell, but poor eyesight. Most rhinoceros live to be about 50 years old or more. The collective noun for a group of rhinoceros is "crash". ndian RhinocerosThe Indian Rhinoceros or the Great One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is found in Nepal and in Assam, India. The rhino once inhabited areas from Pakistan to Burma and may have even roamed in China. But because of human influence their range has shrunk and now they only exist in small populations in northeastern India and Nepal. It is confined to the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas.The Indian Rhinoceros has thick, silver-brown skin which creates huge folds all over its body. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps, and it has very little body hair. Its size is comparable to that of the White Rhino in Africa. Fully grown males are larger than females in the wild, weighing from 2200–3000 kg (4,800–6,600 lb). Female Indian rhinos weigh about 1600 kg. The Indian Rhino is from 5.7–6.7 feet tall and can be up to 13 feet long. The record-sized specimen of this rhino was approximately 3500 kg. The Indian Rhino has a single horn that reaches a length of between 20 and 101 cm. Javan RhinocerosThe Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is one of the rarest and most endangered large mammals anywhere in the world. According to 2002 estimates, only about 60 remain, in Java (Indonesia) and Vietnam. Of all the rhino species, the least is known of the Javan Rhino. These animals prefer dense lowland rain forest, tall grass and reed beds that are plentiful with large floodplains and mud wallows. Though once widespread throughout Asia, by the 1930's the rhinoceros was nearly hunted to extinction in India, Burma, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra for the medical powers of its horn and blood.Like the closely related larger Indian Rhinoceros, the Javan rhinoceros has only a single horn. Its hairless, hazy gray skin fall into folds into the shoulder, back, and rump giving it an armored-like appearance. The Javan rhino's body length reaches up to 3.1-3.2 m (10-10.5 feet), including its head and a height of 1.5–1.7 m tall. Adults are variously reported to weigh between 900–1,400 kg or 1,360-2,000 kg. Males horns can reach 26 cm in length while in females they are knobs or no horn at all.
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