White rhinoceros
| White rhinoceros Temporal range: Early Pleistocene - Recent | |
|---|---|
| A white rhinoceros in South Africa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Rhinocerotidae |
| Genus: | Ceratotherium |
| Species: | C. simum |
| Binomial name | |
| Ceratotherium simum (Burchell, 1817) | |
| Subspecies | |
|
Ceratotherium simum cottoni (northern) | |
| White rhinoceros original range.
Northern (C. s. cottoni)
Southern (C. s. simum) | |
| Northern white rhino distribution according to the IUCN (as of 2020).
Extant and assisted colonisation (resident)
Extinct
Possibly extinct | |
| Southern white rhino distribution according to the IUCN (as of 2020).
Extant (resident)
Extant and reintroduced (resident)
Extant and assisted colonisation (resident)
Presence uncertain & assisted colonisation | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted for grazing. The species includes two subspecies with dramatically different conservation outlooks: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 17,464 individuals in the wild as of the end of 2023, and the northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies is critically endangered and on the brink of extinction; its last known male, Sudan, died in March 2018, leaving behind only a very small number of females in captivity. Both subspecies have faced significant threats, primarily from poaching for their horns and habitat loss, which contribute to the species' overall conservation status of Near Threatened.