 Reference Base  Congenital unilateral aotus in a black rhinoceros Diceros... |
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Vos, V. de, 1978. Congenital unilateral aotus in a black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis bicornis (Linn., 1758). Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 49: 71, fig. 1
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World |
| Subject: |
Morphology |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
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Absence pinna in male from Hluhluwe, South Africa. The unilaterally earless adult black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis bicornis bull, as depicted, was caught in the Hluhluwe Nature Reserve and translocated to the Addo Elephant National Park during September 1977. Two other adult black rhino bulls with normal external ears made up the full consignment. They were introduced into Addo as breeding males in order to fill a vacancy which was left by the recent demise of the only adult bull in the Addo rhino population. Before this introduction the population consisted of 10 animals that were products of an introduction of seven black rhinos, in 1961 and 1962, from Kenya. These animals and their offspring all had normal pinnae.
Uni- or bilateral aotus in the black rhino his been recorded from at least seven discrete populations in eastern and southern Africa, inter alia the Hluhluwe Game Reserve. It has also bee suggested by Goddard that a sex linked genetic character might be responsible for this congenital deformity. It will therefore he interesting to see what effect the introduction of this aotic male will have on a 'normal' population with their full quota of ears.
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