![]() ![]() Their thick-layered skin protects the rhino from thorns and sharp grasses. This key differentiation is further illustrated by the shape of the two species mouths : the "square" lip of the White rhinoceros is an adaptation for grazing, and the "hooked" lip of the Black rhinoceros is an adaptation to help browsing. The black rhinoceros can also be distinguished from the white rhinoceros by its size, smaller skull, and ears and by the position of the head, which is held higher than the White rhinoceros, since the Black rhinoceros is a browser and not a grazer. The white rhinoceros has square lips used for eating grass. The black rhino is smaller than the white rhino and has a pointed and prehensile upper lip, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding. Skin color depends more on local soil conditions and the rhinoceros's wallowing behavior than anything else, so many black rhinos are typically not truly black in color. These horns are used for defense, intimidation, and digging up roots and breaking branches during feeding. Sometimes, a third, smaller horn may develop. The longest known Black rhinoceros horn measured nearly 1.5 m in length. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm long, exceptionally up to 140 cm. An adult typically weighs from 800 to 1,400 kg, however unusually large male specimens have been reported at up to 2,199–2,896 kg. An adult black rhinoceros stands 132–180 cm high at the shoulder and is 2.8–3.8 m in length, plus a tail of about 60 cm in length. ![]()
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