Black Rhino Scientific names
The following scientific names have been proposed for the species which is now called Black rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis. The names are given in alphabetical order with information about author, type-specimen and type-locality and a list of combinations found in the literature.
Rhinoceros africanus Blumenbach, 1797: 126.
Type-specimen: not designated. Blumenbach (1797: 126) refers to Blumenbach (1796. pl. 7 fig. A) depicting the skull first figured and described by Camper (1780, 1782).
Type-locality: Cape of Good Hope.
Authorship: Camper (1780) mentioned 'Rhinoceros africanus' but this is a description rather than a name in the Linnean binomial system. Geoffroy & Cuvier (1795a: 326) mentioned Camper's 'Rhinoceros africanus cornu gemino', wich appears in the title of Camper (1780) and it is a reference to that paper. The name is often attributed to Desmarest (1822) who used it to describe a complete skeleton and skin in the Paris Museum, no.A.7.969, collected by Delalande at the Cape of Good Hope (see Allen 1939: 557, Schwarz 1920).
Combinations used for this taxon:
Rhinoceros africanus
Rhinoceros (Atelodus) africanus
Opsiceros africanus
Diceros bicornis angolensis Zukowsky, 1965: 73.
Type-specimen: Museum Goteborg, no. 7594, skull of adult malc collected by S. Sjolander on ll November 1948.
Type-locality: Virui-waterhole in Mossamedes dt., South Angola.
Diceros bicornis atbarensis Zukowsky, 1965: 141
Type-specimen: British Museum (Natural History), no. 69.10.24.48, collected by W.T. Blanford.
Type-locality: Anseba valley, Eritrea.
Rhinoceros bicornis Linnaeus, 1758: 56 referring to Kolb (1719), Jacobaeus (1696) and Schroeckius (1686).
Type-specimen: Linnaaus 1758: 56 ('cranium tantum...nobis visum': is indeterminate). Hopwood 1939. 453 (Lectotype: the animal described by Kolb 1719). Zukowsky 1965: 32 (holotype: Rijksmuseum van Na tuurlijke Historie, Leiden, cat. a, skull collected at the Cape by Boie and Macklot, donated 3 June 1826 – see Mertens 1966, this holotype is a neotype).
Type-locality: 'India’ (Linnaeus 1758). Thomas 1911: 144 (restricted to Cape of Good Hope)
Combinations used for this taxon:
Atelodus bicornis
Biceros bicornis
Ceratotherium bicornis
Diceros bicornis
Diceros bicornis bicornis
Rhinaster bicornis
Rhinoceros africanus bicornis
Rhinoceros bicornis
Rhinoceros (Atelodus) bicornis
Rhinoceros (Diceros) bicornis
Rhinoceros (Diceros) bicornis bicornis
Rhinoceros unicornis bicornis
Rhinoceros brucii Lesson, 1842: 159
As: 'Rhinoceros bicornis var. A. Rhinoceros Brucii, Blainv.’ The reference is to de Blainville (1817: 168, 1819)who described the ‘Rhinoceros de Bruce’ after Bruce (1790).
Type-specimcn: undesignatcd. Zukowsky 1965: 132 (neotype Museum Berlin, no. 21392. coll. Binder, see Mertens 1966).
Type-locality: Tscherkin. between Bahr Salaam and Atbara, near Ras el Feel, Ethiopia (Schwarz 1920: 870. Zukowsky 1965: 132).
Combinations used for this taxon:
Diceros bicornis brucei
Diceros bicornis brucii
Rhinoceros brucii
Rhinoceros camperi Schinz, 1845: 335.
Type-specimen: undesignated. Rookmaaker & Groves 1978: 125 (specimen described by Camper (1780. 1782) formerly in Groningen Museum).
Type-locality: Cape of Good Hope (Groves 1967b: 273, Schwarz 1920: 871, Zukowsky 1965: 33).
Combinations used for this taxon:
Rhinoceros camperi
Rhinaster keitloa var. camperi
Rhinoceros bicornis capensis Gray 1868: 1025 (in list of synonyms), referring to Camper (1780) but the name does not appear there.
Type-specimen: not designated.
Type-locality: South Africa.
Diceros bicornis chobiensis Zukowsky, 1965: 79.
Type-specimen: Museum Berlin no. 35745. coll. H. Mattenklodt.
Type-locality: Konsumbia. tributary of river Loma.
Rhinoceros cucullatus J .A. Wagner in von Schreber 1835: 317-323.
Type-specimen: formerly in Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich, destroyed in second world war (Zukowsky 1965: 134).
Type-locality: Ethiopia. Schwarz 1920: 871 ('Schoa?').
Combinations used for this taxon:
Ceratorhinus cucullatus
Ceratorhinus aff. cucullatus
Rhinoceros cucullatus
Rhinoceros (Ceratorhinus) cucullatus
Rhinoceros (Diceros) bicornis cucullatus
Rhinoceros gordoni Lesson, 1842: 159 (as:'Rhinoceros bicornis, var. B. Rhinoceros Gordoni.
Type-specimen: not designated. but ultimately the specimens described and figured by Gordon in Allamand 1781 (Cave & Rookmaaker 1977).
Type-locality: South Africa (Schwarz 1920: 870).
Rhinoceros bicornis holmwoodi Sclater, 1893. Proposed provisionally.
Type-specimen: two horns donated by Frederick Hopwood obtained in Zanzibar, in collection of British Museum (Natural History). Hopwood 1939: 454 (lectotype:the straight horn figured by Sclater 1893. fig. 1. now BMNH no.94.3.3.1 ).
Type-locality: probably 'country of 'Udalia', situated at the N.E. point of Usukuma, 50 miles south of Speke gulf” (Sclater 1893), Tanzania.
Combinations used for this taxon:
Diceros bicornis holmwoodi
Rhinoceros homewoodi
Rhinoceros holmwoodi
Rhinoceros bicornis holmwoodi
Rhinoceros (Dicera) bicornis holmwoodi
Rhinoceros (Diceros) bicornis holmwoodi
Rhinoceros keitloa Smith, 1836: 44.
Type-specimen: not designated. Hopwood 1939: 454, pl. 10 fig.2 (holotype is specimen brought to England by Smith (1837), bought by British Museum in 1838, no. 38.6.9.101 – see Zukowsky 1965: 41).
Type-locality: 'country north and south of Kurrichaine' (Smith 1836) in N. Transvaal. Smith 1837: 7 ( restricted to 'about 180 miles N.E. of Lattakoo' where type-specimen was shot).
Combinations used for this taxon:
Diceros bicornis keitloa
Rhinaster keitloa
Rhinaster keitloa var . camperi
Rhinaster keitloa var. keitloa
Rhinoceros keitloa
Rhinoceros ketloa Smith, 1837: 7 (lapsus for R.keitloa).
Atelodus ketloa
Rhinaster ketloa
Rhinoceros ketloa
Rhinoceros kulumane Player, 1972: 25.
Published without description but attributed to Drummond. who ( 1875: 84) distinguished a species locally known as kulumane in Umfolozi park, but which “has not yet received a scientific name.” Later, Drummond (1876: 109) dcscribed his Rhinoceros bicornis major. “the greater black species, known as the kulumane on the eastern side...”
Diceros bicornis ladoensis Zukowsky, 1965: 124. Proposed conditionally.
Type-specimen: Museum Munich. no. 1912/4201. coll. Hesselberg 3 Feb. 1912.
Type-locality: Shambe in Lado dt.
Diceros bicornis longipes Zukowsky, 1949.
Type-specimen: Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main, no. 766 (839) A.54, adult female, coll. Herzog Adolf Friedrich zu Mecklenburg.
Type-locality: Mogrum. S.W. Chad.
Rhinoceros bicornis major Drummond, 1876: 109.
Type-specimen: not designated.
Type-locality: South Africa.
Diceros bicornis michaeli Zukowsky, 1965: 115.
Type-specimen: Museum Berlin. no. 46166, skull collected by W.Zietl.
Type-locality: between Engaruka and Serengeti, N. Tanzania.
Rhinoceros bicornis minor Drummond, 1876: 109.
Type-specimen: not designated.
Type-locality: South Africa, all country south-east or Zambesi River. Zukowsky 1965: 48 (Zululand selected).
Combinations used for this taxon:
Diceros bicornis keitloa var. minor
Diceros bicornis minor
Rhinoceros bicornis minor
Rhinoceros niger Schinz, 1845: 335, referring to Alexander 1838.
Type-specimen: not designated.
Type-locality: 'Africa meridionalis partibus interioribus' (Schinz 1845). Schwarz 1920: 871 (restricted to Chuntop near Mt. Mitchell, Kuiseb mountains, Namibia).
Combinations used for this taxon:
Diceros bicornis niger
Rhinoceros niger
Diceros bicornis nyasae Zukowsky., 1965: 93. Proposed conditionally.
Type-specimen: not designated.
Type-locality: around Lake Nyassa
Opsiceros occidentalis Zukowsky, 1922.
Type-specimen: Museum Hamburg, no. 40056, young male, lived in Hagenbeck's Tierpark, 10 July 1914 - 15 October 1916.
Type-locality: Kaokofeld-Kunene region, S.W. Africa.
Combinations used for this taxon:
Diceros bicornis occidentalis
Opsiceros occidentalis
Diceros bicornis palustris Benzon, 1947.
Type-specimen: not designated.
Type-locality: Bahr el Ghazal, S.W. Sudan
Diceros bicornis punyana Potter, 1947.
Type-specimen: not designated.
Type-locality: Hluhluwe, Zululand.
Diceros bicornis rendilis Zukowsky, 1965.
Type-specimen: Naturhist. Museum Stockholm, skull of 56.5 cm length, collected by E. Lonnberg.
Type-locality: northern Guaso Nyiro, Kenya.
Diceros bicornis rowumae Zukowsky, 1965. Proposed conditionally.
Type-specimen: Mus.Berlin, no. 14828 (5000 LH), coll. Rolle.
Type-locality: interior of Mikindani on river Rowuma, Tanzania.
Rhinoceros bicornis somaliensis Potocki, 1897: 82, 102-104 (1900: 82-83).
Potocki referred to rhinos shot by Swayne in 1892 “when it was recognised as a variety distinct from the central African form” but Swayne (1894, 1895) does not suggest that.
Type-specimen: not designated. Lydekker 1916: 55 (lectotype is figure in Potocki 1897 facing p. 104, see Hopwood 1939: 455, specimen destroyed). Schwarz 1920: 870 (neotype: skull in British Museum (Natural History) no. 11.8.2.20, shot in Somaliland by R.E. Drake-Brockman, see Hopwood 1939: 455, pl. 11 fig. 2; Lydekker 1911b).
Type-locality: Somaliland.
Combinations used for this taxon:
Diceros bicornis somaliensis
Rhinoceros bicornis somaliensis
Rhinoceros (Diceros) bicornis somaliensis |
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