The lesser Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis)'', also known as the Indian Javan rhinoceros, or the hornless rhinoceros, is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the Javan rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros sondaicus'') that was native to

northeastern India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Its common name was based of off the Indian Rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis)'', being the ''Greater Indian rhinoceros'' or ''Great Indian rhinoceros''.

Etymology

The subspecies

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

name being the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

epithet "''inermis''" means "''unarmed''" or "''toothless''". The word "''toothless''" or in this case "''hornless''", refers to the subspecies first specimen, a female who had no horn; this trait being identical to other rhinoceros species.

Description

The lesser Indian rhinoceros were semi-large, with a more elongated body than the Javan rhinoceros, and long, skinny legs. Average sized

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

, and a small eye socket.

Horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

size and length is most likely about the same size as the Javan rhinoceros. Nothing is known about male individuals.

History

Christoph-Augustin Lamare-Picquot visited

from 1826 to 1829 to collect specimens of plants, animals, and

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

to bring back to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On November 17, 1828 near the Ganges delta, a group of his men killed a hornless, peculiar female rhinoceros, and stole its offspring. An account of his discovery was recorded in 1835 under the species name of ''Rhinoceros inermis'' by another French naturalist and explorer, René-Primivère Lesson. The specimens were purchased by

Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

in 1836, and given to a museum within

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The specimens were then bought by the Prussian king by Ludwig l of Bavaria in 1841, and placed in a museum within

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Conservation

The lesser Indian rhinoceros is currently listed as "

Extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

" by a majority of sources. The last account of the subspecies was before 1925, potentially having gone extinct by then or soon to be so.

Previous threats

The lesser Indian rhinoceros was under threat by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, poaching, and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20908075, from2=Q118898959 Fauna of Bangladesh Fauna of India Fauna of Myanmar Rhinoceroses