''Diceros'' (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos)) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

containing the extant

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis''), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East Africa, East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Moza ...

''(Diceros bicornis)'' and several extinct species.

Taxonomy

''Diceros'' is more closely related to the genus ''

Ceratotherium ''Ceratotherium'' (from Greek: ''keras'' κέρας "horn" and ''thērion'' θηρίον "beast") is a genus within the family Rhinocerotidae. It comprises one living species, the white rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum''), and several extinct fo ...

'' (which contains the

white rhinoceros 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 Sociality, social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted f ...

) than it is to other living rhinoceroses, with the clade containing the two comprising the tribe Dicerotini (also spelled Diceroti) or subtribe Dicerotina. ''Diceros'' has been suggested by some authors to have branched off from an early species of ''Ceratotherium'', specifically '' C. neumayri,'' which has also been assigned to ''Diceros'' in some studies. However, other authors have disputed the close relationship between ''Diceros'' and ''"C". neumayri.'' The oldest species assigned to the genus is "''Diceros" australis'' from the Early Miocene of Namibia, dating to around 17-18 million years ago. It is only known from fragmentary remains, and its assignment to the genus, and even to Dicerotini have been questioned by other authors. Other species assigned to the genus include ''

Diceros praecox ''Diceros praecox'' is an extinct species of rhinoceros that lived in Africa during the Pliocene, around 4 million years ago. It has been suggested to be the direct ancestor of the living black rhinoceros ''(Diceros bicornis)''. Taxonomy ''Dicero ...

'' from the Late Miocene (from about 7 million years ago) and the Pliocene of Sub-Saharan Africa. ''D. praecox'' has been suggested by some authors to be the ancestor of the modern ''D. bicornis''. ''Diceros primaevus'' is known from the Late Miocene (c. 12-10 million years ago) of Algeria. ''Diceros douariensis'' is known from the Late Miocene of Tunisia and possibly Ethiopia. Some authors have assigned this species to ''Ceratotherium.'' The species ''Diceros gansuensis'' has been reported from the Late Miocene of China, dating to around 10 million years ago. The earliest remains assigned to the modern black rhinoceros are known the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) of East Africa, though other authors have considered the earliest remains of the species to date to the earliest Pleistocene around 2.6 million years ago at

Koobi Fora Koobi Fora refers primarily to a region around Koobi Fora Ridge, located on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana in the territory of the nomadic Gabbra people. According to the National Museums of Kenya, the name comes from the Gabbra language ...

, Kenya.Geraads, D., 2010
Rhinocerotidae
, in: Werdelin, L., Sanders, W.J. (eds), Cenozoic mammals of Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 669-683

References

External links

* * Rhinoceroses Mammal genera Mammal genera with one living species Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxa described in 1821 {{Oddtoedungulate-stub