My wish is for an authentic representation of the horned rhinoceros in all its various guises (Family Rhinocerotidae). AM's White rhino is not bad but his black rhino is the same white rhino with a modified lip. AM's Woolly rhino is OK but the nasal horn is conical not blade-like. I cannot find any Indian or Sumatran rhino anywhere. I have collected some images and information here to illustrate the differences between the various species. I think they may be of use to the artists among you who are, hopefully, considering doing models of various rhinos. There are quite a lot of images so I have to split this post into four parts. There are literally hundreds of rhino images in the internet. However good images of the Javan, and especially, the Northern white rhinos are few and far between. Many images of the Indian rhino are mislabelled as Javan, but if you look carefully, they are pictures of captive rhinos. There are no captive Javan rhino anywhere in the world today. Also, even though there are only subtle differences between the two you can tell them apart. Good images of the Northern White rhino are even more difficult to find. There are only a handful of these rhinos left in the world in protected reserves and their horns are removed to make them less attractive targets to poachers, so many images show rhinos with horns sawn off. Also many of the images are of Southern whites labelled as Northern and the differences between the two can be so subtle that they can be very difficult to differentiate.
Part 1
I'll start with the living species. There are six extant species of rhinos, namely the Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), the Javan or Sunda rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the Southern White rhino (Ceratotherium simum), the Northern White rhino (Ceratotherium cottoni) and the Black rhino (Diceros bicornis). They all belong to the Subfamily Rhinocerotinae which also includes the extinct ice age Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis).
These six extant rhinos are neatly divided into 2 groups:
Group 1. Asiatic rhinos, making up 3 species in 2 genera:
Rhinoceros unicornis, the Greater One-horn or Indian rhinoceros
Rhinoceros sondaicus, the Lesser One-horn or Javan rhinoceros (sometimes called the Sunda rhinoceros)
Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, the Sumatran rhinoceros
They are differentiated form the African rhinos by their relatively small single horns, or in the case of the Sumatran, two small horns. They also possess sharp lower incisor based tusks which they use for defence and offence. Perhaps this is why they have smaller horns.
This is a picture of the Indian rhino showing a pair of sharp lower incisor tusks.
The One-horn rhinos and the Sumatran rhino are quite different in appearance. Besides having only a single nasal horn, the One-horn rhinos are much larger. The Sumatran rhino is the smallest of the extant rhinos. It is also the only one with body hair and is believed by some to be closely related to the extinct woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis)
This is a Sumatran rhino, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis. Notice the presence of body hair even in the adult.
This is a Sumatran rhino, with a half grown calf.
This is a Sumatran rhino with a young calf (front view).
This is a posterior view of a Sumatran rhino.
The two One-horn rhinos are very similar in appearance. The One-horn rhino has prominent skin folds and a rivet-like mosaic pattern on its skin that make it look like it is wearing an armour. The Indian rhino is bigger, being only slightly smaller than the White rhino, while the Javan rhino is smaller, about the same size as the Black rhino. Both male and female Indian rhinos have single nasal horns, while the female Javan rhino is usually hornless (there is just a knob where the horn is supposed to be). Also the neck folds are less marked in the Javan rhino.
This is an Indian rhino, Rhinoceros unicornis. It looks like it is wearing a full suit of armour!
This is an Indian rhino, with a calf. Notice the presence of a nasal horn in a female.
This is a male Javan rhino, Rhinoceros sondaicus. It looks very similar to the Indian rhino above but with less prominent neck folds.
This is a female Javan rhino with calf. Notice the nasal knob in place of the horn.
This is an Indian rhino, facing front, showing the prominent neck folds. These neck folds are actually an armour of sorts protecting it from an opponent's bite.
This the Javan rhino, facing front, showing much less prominent neck folds.
This is a view from the back of an Indian rhino (mother and suckling calf) to show details of the skin folds from behind. Notice the pinkish skin underneath the folds. Also the rivet-like mosaic pattern is most noticeable when viewed from the back.
Part 1
I'll start with the living species. There are six extant species of rhinos, namely the Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), the Javan or Sunda rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the Southern White rhino (Ceratotherium simum), the Northern White rhino (Ceratotherium cottoni) and the Black rhino (Diceros bicornis). They all belong to the Subfamily Rhinocerotinae which also includes the extinct ice age Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis).
These six extant rhinos are neatly divided into 2 groups:
Group 1. Asiatic rhinos, making up 3 species in 2 genera:
Rhinoceros unicornis, the Greater One-horn or Indian rhinoceros
Rhinoceros sondaicus, the Lesser One-horn or Javan rhinoceros (sometimes called the Sunda rhinoceros)
Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, the Sumatran rhinoceros
They are differentiated form the African rhinos by their relatively small single horns, or in the case of the Sumatran, two small horns. They also possess sharp lower incisor based tusks which they use for defence and offence. Perhaps this is why they have smaller horns.
This is a picture of the Indian rhino showing a pair of sharp lower incisor tusks.
The One-horn rhinos and the Sumatran rhino are quite different in appearance. Besides having only a single nasal horn, the One-horn rhinos are much larger. The Sumatran rhino is the smallest of the extant rhinos. It is also the only one with body hair and is believed by some to be closely related to the extinct woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis)
This is a Sumatran rhino, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis. Notice the presence of body hair even in the adult.
This is a Sumatran rhino, with a half grown calf.
This is a Sumatran rhino with a young calf (front view).
This is a posterior view of a Sumatran rhino.
The two One-horn rhinos are very similar in appearance. The One-horn rhino has prominent skin folds and a rivet-like mosaic pattern on its skin that make it look like it is wearing an armour. The Indian rhino is bigger, being only slightly smaller than the White rhino, while the Javan rhino is smaller, about the same size as the Black rhino. Both male and female Indian rhinos have single nasal horns, while the female Javan rhino is usually hornless (there is just a knob where the horn is supposed to be). Also the neck folds are less marked in the Javan rhino.
This is an Indian rhino, Rhinoceros unicornis. It looks like it is wearing a full suit of armour!
This is an Indian rhino, with a calf. Notice the presence of a nasal horn in a female.
This is a male Javan rhino, Rhinoceros sondaicus. It looks very similar to the Indian rhino above but with less prominent neck folds.
This is a female Javan rhino with calf. Notice the nasal knob in place of the horn.
This is an Indian rhino, facing front, showing the prominent neck folds. These neck folds are actually an armour of sorts protecting it from an opponent's bite.
This the Javan rhino, facing front, showing much less prominent neck folds.
This is a view from the back of an Indian rhino (mother and suckling calf) to show details of the skin folds from behind. Notice the pinkish skin underneath the folds. Also the rivet-like mosaic pattern is most noticeable when viewed from the back.