Rhinoceros
Featured in: Year 1: Animals, including humans
Rhinoceros
Mammal
A massive, thick-skinned herbivore with one or two horns on its snout.
💡 Fun Facts
- Their horns are made of keratin, the exact same protein that makes up human hair and fingernails.
- Despite their huge size, rhinos can run very fast (up to 30 miles per hour).
- They have terrible eyesight but fantastic hearing and smell.
Name Story
Ceratotherium simum
means “the flat-nosed horned beast”
What does its name mean?
- Ceratotherium — horned beastGreek keras 'horn' + thērion 'wild beast'
- simum — flat-nosed, snub-nosedGreek, for its broad, square grazing lip
- rhinoceros — nose-hornGreek rhis 'nose' + keras 'horn'
The word 'rhinoceros' simply means 'nose-horn', and this one's scientific name means 'the flat-nosed horned beast', for its broad, square lip made for grazing grass. Here is a puzzle, though: no one is quite sure why it is called the 'white' rhino — it certainly isn't white, but grey, just like its 'black' rhino cousin!