The Western Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) or West African Black Rhinoceros is the rarest of the Black Rhino subspecies and on June 8th 2006 it was declared tentatively extinct. Once widespread in the savanna of central-west Africa but declined from illegal poaching. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata... Families Equidae Tapiridae Rhinocerotidae The odd-toed ungulates or Perissodactyla are large to very large browsing and grazing mammals with relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe. ... Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct) Elasmotherium (extinct) The rhinoceros (commonly called rhino for short; plural can be either rhinoceros or rhinoceroses) is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. ... Binomial name Diceros bicornis The Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a mammal of the Perissodactyla order which lives in the eastern areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. ... Binomial name Diceros bicornis Linnaeus, 1758 The Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis; also colloquially, Black Rhino) is a mammal in the order Perissodactyla, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Description

The Western Black Rhinoceros length was 10-12.5 feet long, a height of 4.5-5.5 feet and weight of 1750-3000 pounds. They had two horns and first measured at 1.8 feet-4.4 feet and the second at 1-22 inches. Like all Black Rhinos they are browsers and could be found on the savanna.

Population and Decline

They lived in central-western Africa. Hunted heavily in the beginning of the 20th century but their population rose in the 1930's after preservation actions were taken. Although the protection declined over the years and so did the number of Western Black Rhinos. By 1980 their population was in the hundreds. Poaching continued and sadly by 2000 an estimated 10 survived. Early 2006 an intensive survey of northern Cameroon (the last place they lived) and none were discovered. Upon this news the IUCN declared Diceros bicornis longipes tentatively extinct. The illegal poaching, limited anti-poaching efforts, failure of courts to hand down sentences to punish poachers and more contributed to their demise. Although there is a small strand of hope for the subspecies continued existence. There may still be a very small amount of rhinos left and might be rediscovered in the future (hence "tentatively" extinct) but even so it does not look good.

Resources

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2260631,00.html

http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/westernblackrhino.htm

http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/39319/doc

http://www.rhinos-irf.org/rhinoinformation/blackrhino/subspecies/western.htm