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Wishing for an Anatomically Correct Rhino

Harimau

Eager
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.
Indian-rhinoceros_large.jpg


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.
0821sumatran-rhino_small.jpg


This is a Sumatran rhino, with a half grown calf.
0401.800px-Sumatran_Rhino_2.600_large.jpg


This is a Sumatran rhino with a young calf (front view).
Sumatran_Rhino_small.jpg


This is a posterior view of a Sumatran rhino.
SumatranRhino3_CincinnatiZoo_small.jpg


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!
indian-rhino2_small.jpg


This is an Indian rhino, with a calf. Notice the presence of a nasal horn in a female.
piccolo-rinoceronte-con-la-madre_small.jpg


This is a male Javan rhino, Rhinoceros sondaicus. It looks very similar to the Indian rhino above but with less prominent neck folds.
Javan-rhino_small.jpg


This is a female Javan rhino with calf. Notice the nasal knob in place of the horn.
javan_3437400b_large.jpg


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.
Rhinoceros_unicornis,_Kaziranga_(2006)_small.jpg


This the Javan rhino, facing front, showing much less prominent neck folds.
93f49a7164e734a792ac11826f6a9275_large.jpg


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.
dscf70923-195790_small.jpg
 

Harimau

Eager
Part 2

Group 2. African rhinos, also making up 3 species in 2 genera:

Ceratotherium simum, the Southern White rhinoceros
Ceratotherium cottoni, the Northern White rhinoceros
Diceros bicornis, the Black rhinoceros

They have 2 large horns, a larger nasal and a smaller frontal, which are their sole weapons of defence and offence. They do not have any incisor based tusks (no front teeth).

This is a picture of the mouth of a black rhino. Notice that there are no front teeth at all.
8eef6045d2be2b6fb3c26da9a9bda3b4_large.jpg


Just as the white rhino is not white, the black rhino is not black. They are both of the same grey colour. How do you tell them apart?

The difference between the black rhino and the white rhino is basically the difference between a browser (an animal that eats leaves and shoots off shrubs and trees, usually at face level or higher) and a grazer (an animal that eats grass, cropping it at ground level). All living rhinos apart from the white rhinos are browsers although the Indian rhino seasonally also graze. White rhinos are grazers. The white rhino has a bigger head with a longer forehead compared to the black rhino. The most notable difference between white and black rhinos, however, are their mouths. Being a grazer, the white rhino has a wide square lip allowing it to crop grass close to the ground. Because black rhinos are browsers, they have smaller, hook-shaped lips that allow them to grasp prickly shrubs and trees.

This picture sums up the major differences between the black and white rhinos.
black-rhino-vs-white-rhino-heads1.jpg


The Black rhino, Diceros bicornis, is smaller than the White rhino, about the same size as the Javan rhino.

This is a Black rhino, Diceros bicornis.
rhino-black2_small.jpg


This is a Black rhino, with a calf.
Black-Rhino-Calf-Born-at-Atlanta-Zoo-for-the-First-Time-in-the-Facility-s-History-376761-2_large.jpg


This is a black rhino, front view.
7918b7fc2057dbc9d31891dd84276f98_small.jpg


This is a posterior view of the black rhino.
Black rhino AFW-05-MH0009-01P_large.jpg


The White rhinoceros is the largest of the extant species of rhinoceros. With the advent of genetic testing, the two previous subspecies of the White rhino has been elevated to full species (although some experts prefer not to separate them into two species because they are so similar in their morphology). What is the difference between Northern and Southern species of white rhino? External differences:

Northern (Ceratotherium cottoni): Smaller, a slightly concave but rather straight back, concave but nearly flat skull, generally no grooves between ribs, hairier ears and tails (variable), shorter nasal horn.

Southern (Ceratotherium simum): Larger, an obviously concave back and more prominent shoulder hump, deeply concave skull, sometimes with distinct vertical grooves between ribs, longer nasal horn.

As you can see the external differences are very subtle, mainly in the degree of concavity of forehead and back and degree of prominence of shoulder hump and overall size.

This is a Northern white rhino, Ceratotherium cottoni. Notice the flatter back, less prominent shoulder hump, straight forehead.
Northern_White_Rhinoceros_Angalifu_small.jpg


This is a Southern white rhino, Ceratotherium simum. Notice the concave back and prominent shoulder hump, concave forehead.
Waterberg_Nashorn3_Small.jpg


This is a Northern white rhino, with a calf.
white-rhino4_small.jpg


This is a Southern white rhino, with a calf.
White_rhino_2008_08_small.jpg


This is a Southern white rhino, front view.
2e063ecffbca7ebaeeec1beb1b1a8e92_small.jpg


This is the posterior view of a Southern white rhino (mother and calf). Contrast this with the folds of the Indian rhino above.
1413250126751_wps_1_Bruce_the_baby_White_Rhin_large.jpg


Sadly, the Northern white rhino is almost extinct. Apparently only 3 individuals are left and are kept under constant protection at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. However, with the elevation to full species status, more effort is now made to preserve the species or to resurrect it from frozen sperm and ova, should it go extinct.
 

Harimau

Eager
Part 3

Next the extinct rhinos. There are four extinct rhinos that I think will make interesting subjects, namely, Coelodonta antiquitatis (the Woolly rhinoceros), Elasmotherium caucasicum, Sinotherium lagrelii and Ningxiatherium euryrhinus. The Family Rhinocerotidae is subdivided into two subfamilies, Rhinocerotinae (which also includes all living rhinos) and Elasmotheriinae (all extinct).

1. Subfamily Rhinocerotinae:

The Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) was equal in size or slightly bigger than the the extant White rhino. Along with the Woolly mammoth, auroch and many other ice age mammals, we actually know what it might have looked like. Its likeness is depicted in cave paintings. Even if those prehistoric cave artists paint them from memory, they must have been extremely familiar with these animals, having hunted and butchered them for food. Like the woolly mammoth, frozen specimens have also been found. There is a very good article on the appearance of the woolly rhino by Darren Naish at his blog:

The remarkable life appearance of the Woolly rhino

Dr Naish states that "Prehistoric artwork frequently shows the rhino’s head dipping down towards the ground as suggested by the anatomy. The majority of depictions show the rhinos as two-horned: the posterior (or frontal) horn is sometimes shown as being shorter or very much shorter than the anterior (or nasal) horn, but sometimes the two are about the same length, and sometimes the posterior horn is shown as being slightly longer than the anterior one. Preserved horns show that the rhinos really were this variable in horn proportions."

He further states that "All Woolly rhino images consistently show a massively deep, hugely convex shoulder hump that extends all the way forward to the back of the head. The hump is so massive that, when the animal is depicted in a grazing pose, the anterior edge of the hump is sometimes shown overhanging virtually the whole of the face. Limb length and how close the body is to the ground varies quite a bit. Some illustrations show the limbs as being proportionally tiny, the belly being almost in contact with the ground, and a long, shaggy fringe of fur along the ventral surface of the belly. The majority, however, do not show this, and instead the belly is well up off the ground and a ventral hair fringe is missing. Perhaps the coat was variable according to season. The posterior horn is often short, squat and sub-circular in cross section, with a strongly pointed apex. The anterior horn is usually far longer (about four times longer), but it isn’t a subconical structure, rounded in cross-section, like the anterior horns of living rhinos. Rather, it’s laterally compressed, lenticular in cross-section and with a triangular cross-sectional shape to its anterior border. This cross-section was seemingly produced as wear facets were formed along both sides of the horn’s leading edge..... European cave art depicting Coelodonta shows it as dark, but with a massively thick, near-black band completely encircling the animal’s middle."

The following are two examples of those cave paintings:
Cave Paintings.jpg


An exceptionally well preserved (pickled) specimen of the woolly rhinoceros, the Starunia rhinoceros, is kept in the Natural History Museum of the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The preservation of the body of this rhino was possible because of the brine deposits and mineral wax (ozokerite) occurring at the site. This is a cast of the Starunia Woolly rhinoceros from the Museum. This picture showed no preserved horns.
232280744_7080ce5fa7 large.jpg


The Kolyma wolly rhinoceros whose frozen remains were discovered at the opening of a gold mine in Yakutia in Siberia showing the large blade-like nasal horn.
p02b1by0_small.jpg


Woolly rhino skeleton. Even without soft tissues, we would know that this is a grazing rhino with a shoulder hump.
Woolly-rhino-skeleton-Franco-Atirado-wikipedia-600-px-tiny-Nov-2013_large.jpg


Dr Naish's Woolly rhino cheat-sheet
Woolly-rhino-cheat-sheet-600-px-tiny-Nov-2013-Darren-Naish-Tetrapod-Zoology large.jpg


A reconstruction based on Dr Naish's cheat-sheet.
coelodonta_antiquitatis_updated_by_willemsvdmerwe-d6trgmv.jpg


This reconstruction by Mauricio Antón is, I think, the most authentic of all except for the fact that the anterior nasal horn looks conical rather than blade-like. The relatively short hair is probably the summer coat, with melting snow in the background.
Woolly_rhinoceros_(Coelodonta_antiquitatis)_-_Mauricio_Antón_large.jpg


Next, some comments on the rhino horn. In bovids (cattle, sheep, antelopes, etc.), horns are composed of a bony core covered with a sheath of keratin (the hollow horn). In fossils only the horn cores are fossilized. In the case of rhinos, the horns are solid and though still made up of keratin, are more like "compressed hair" and like the hollow horns of bovids do not fossilize. Instead they leave thickened areas or bosses on the skull that indicate where they used to be attached.

This is a black rhino skull showing the horn bosses, a large nasal boss and a small frontal one behind, both with a rugose surface.
3900e15930a9718b44de3c3d29ee0c4e.jpg


The same skull with horns placed where they used to be.
5a09dc980bde8c2da677e012b28c33fe.jpg


This is an antelope skull with the hollow right horn removed to expose the horn core.
medium_enlarged.jpg


This is a Woolly rhino skull cast with horns attached.
woolly_rhino_skull_cast_large.jpg
 

Harimau

Eager
Part 4

2. Subfamily Elasmotheriinae:

Most elasmotheres have a single large nasal horn, although the most recent, famous and biggest of them all, Elasmotherium has a huge frontal horn. These are three elasmotheres that represents the transition from one with a large nasal horn to one with an enormous frontal horn:

Ningxiatherium euryrhinus
Sinotherium lagrelii
Elasmotherium caucasicum


They were all grazers.

There were two known species of elasmotherium, Elasmotherium sibiricum and the slighty larger Elasmotherium caucasicum. They are about the size of a Woolly Mammoth. There are no cave paintings to indicate what it really looked like in real life, or whether or not it has hair, although there are circumstantial evidence from its habitat that it has.

This cave art from Rouffignac, purportedly that of Elasmotherium, gives an outline of what it may have looked like. It seems to have the huge hump reminiscent of the Woolly rhino.
Elasmotherium_cave_art.jpg


This is a reconstruction that seems to be based on the above cave drawing.
elasmotherium_caucasicum_by_willemsvdmerwe-d5uo89h.jpg


This is a skull of Elasmotherium sibiricum showing the huge frontal boss with a reconstructed two meter long frontal horn. There is a distinct transverse suture in the middle of the boss. An explanation as to why this is so is given below in relation to the evolution of the frontal horn.
Elasmotherium_sibiricum_34 small.jpg


This is a reconstruction of Elasmotherium caucasicum with hair. This reconstruction is by Chen Yu who did all the other elasmotheres as well.
elasmotherium_caucasicum_by_sinammonite-d2b5iqm_large.jpg


This is another reconstruction.
thumb.php.jpg


This is the latest and best reconstruction, in my opinion, of Elasmotherium caucasicum
Elasmotheriun caucasicum.jpg


This brings us to the mystery of the huge frontal horn of Elasmotherium. Elasmotherium had a two meter-long horn on its
forehead. All other elasmotheres had either a short or a long nasal horn. The transition from a nasal horn to a frontal horn in elasmotheres has been difficult to explain because there was a major gap between the nasal-horned ancestors and their frontal-horned descendants. Recently, a skull of Sinotherium lagrelii was discovered. Previously, Sinotherium lagrelii was only represented by cranial and mandibular fragments and isolated teeth so its horn situation was until now unknown. This new skull shows that it has a posteriorly displaced nasofrontal horn and a much smaller frontal horn posterior and immediately adjacent to it. It differs from both the preceding Ningxiatherium (single nasal horn) and the succeeding Elasmotherium (single frontal horn). It is a morphological intermediate in the nasal-to-frontal horn transition of elasmotheres.

A hugely enlarged nasal horn without compensatory changes in the skull would make the support of the horn impossible, even with an ossified nasal septum, so the nasal horn had to be shifted back towards the frontal bone. This process was achieved in two stages. Firstly, the nasal horn was shifted posteriorly to become a frontal horn and secondly, the dolichocephalic (long) skull became brachycephalic (short). Based on the comparisons between the skulls of Sinotherium, Elasmotherium and Ningxiatherium, the nasal horn appears to have enlarged gradually and shifted back slowly towards the frontal bone. Meanwhile, a smaller frontal horn developed which then fused with the nasal horn to form a single huge frontal horn. This discovery also explains the distinct transverse suture near the middle of the frontal horn boss of Elasmotherium that was previously not understood. It is now considered to be a remnant of the fusion of the nasal and frontal horn bosses.

This is a series of elasmothere species displaying an increase in skull size, shortening of the skull and the transition from a nasal horn to a frontal horn.
1-atandemhorne big.jpg


Sinotherium was a large rhinoceros much heavier than the largest modern African white rhino. This is a reconstruction of Sinotherium lagrelii with two horns.
sinotherium_lagrelii_by_sinammonite-d5svqtc.jpg


An older, out of date reconstruction of Sinotherium lagrelii before the skull was discovered showing only a frontal horn.
sinotherium_lagrelii_by_sinammonite-d2b5ijd_large.jpg


A prehistoric scene showing a female Sinotherium lagrelii with young and a male with longer frontal horn in the background.
6 big.jpg


Ningxiatherium is described to be much heavier than the extant White rhino. This is the only reconstruction of Ningxiatherium euryrhinus that I can find. There are two horn configurations shown.
ningxiatherium_euryrhinus_by_sinammonite-d6s8jbx_small.jpg


This picture shows the same two horn configurations of Ningxiatherium euryrhinus in relation to the skull.
ningxiatherium_euryrhinus_by_sinammonite-d6s8jjz_small.jpg


This is Ningxiatherium longirhinus.
ningxiatherium_longirhinus_by_sinammonite-d2b5ixi_large.jpg
 

Pendraia

Sage
Contributing Artist
Amazing info...I'm not sure if Chris has any plans for a rhino...I do know that there are a number of species in the works though.
 

Harimau

Eager
This is an excellent illustration of the living rhinos taken from the Handbook of the Mammals of the World Vol. 2 - Lynx Edicions, showing: 1. Ceratotherium simum (male), with a head of a female on the right and one of Ceratotherium cottoni on the left. 2. Diceros bicornis, 3. Rhinoceros unicornis, 4. Rhinoceros sondaicus with head of a hornless female on the right, and 5. Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, subspecies sumatrensis on the left and subspecies harrissoni on the right.

tumblr_mnhkn5ACmF1r34488o1_1280_large.jpg
 
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