The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), also called the hook-lipped rhinoceros, is a species of perissodactyl mammal in the rhinoceros family, Rhinoceratidae. It is native to eastern and southern Africa, and is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; as of 2020, it was estimated that only 3,142 adults remained in the wild. Its primary threats are poaching and habitat loss. This species evolved during the Pliocene, about 3.6 million years ago.
There are several known subspecies, most of which are endangered or extinct:
- Diceros bicornis bicornis, the southern black rhinoceros, found in southern Africa; extinct around 1850
- Diceros bicornis brucii, the northeastern black rhinoceros, found in northeastern Africa; extinct in the early 1900s
- Diceros bicornis chobiensis, the Chobe black rhinoceros, endemic to the Chobe Valley; only one known living specimen as of 2011
- Diceros bicornis ladoensis, the Ugandan black rhinoceros, found in eastern-central Africa; possibly extinct as of 2023
- Diceros bicornis longipes, the western black rhinoceros, found in western Africa; possibly extinct by 2006, declared extinct in 2011
- Diceros bicornis michaeli, the eastern black rhinoceros, found in eastern Africa
- Diceros bicornis minor, the south-central black rhinoceros, found in south-central Africa
- Diceros bicornis occidentalis, the southwestern black rhinoceros, found in desert environments of southwestern Africa
