The white rhinoceros or square -lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists of two subspecies: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 19,682–21,077 wild-living animals in the year 2015, and the much rarer northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies has very few remaining individuals, with only two confirmed left in 2018 (two females; Fatu, 18 and Najin, 29), both in captivity. Sudan, the world 's last known male northern white rhinoceros, died in Kenya on 19 March 2018.
Naming
A popular albeit widely discredited theory of the origins of the name " white rhinoceros " is a mistranslation from Dutch to English. The English word " white " is said to have been derived by mistranslation of the Dutch word "wijd", which means "wide" in English. The word "wide" refers to the width of the rhinoceros 's mouth. So early English-speaking settlers in South Africa misinterpreted the "wijd" for " white " and the rhino with the wide mouth ended up being called the white rhino and the other one, with the narrow pointed mouth, was called the black rhinoceros. Ironically, Dutch (and Afrikaans) later used a calque of the English word, and now also call it a white rhino.
Copyright 2024 puzzlefactory.com All rights reserved.
