Morales J C, Melnick D J
Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027.
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 1994 Jun;3(2):128-34. doi: 10.1006/mpev.1994.1015.
Classification of the living species of rhinoceros has been somewhat controversial. Traditionally, the two-horned rhinoceros, which includes the African (Diceros and Ceratotherium) and the Asian (Dicerorhinus) forms, has been included in one group separate from the one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros). However, recently some authors have regarded the Asian species as a group separate from the African species, irrespective of the number of horns. Furthermore, others have split the living rhinoceros into three unrelated groups that include the African two-horned species in one group, the Asian two-horned rhinoceros in another group, and the Asian one-horned rhinoceros in a third group. We investigated the systematic relationships of the living rhinoceros using high-resolution restriction site mapping of the ribosomal genes of the mitochondrial DNA, and our results support the traditional subdivision of the living rhinoceros based on the number of horns. Few groups of mammals are more critically endangered than the rhinoceros, and the data obtained in this work should provide information relevant to their conservation.
犀牛现存物种的分类一直存在一定争议。传统上，双角犀牛包括非洲的（白犀属和黑犀属）和亚洲的（苏门答腊犀属）种类，被归为一个与独角犀牛（印度犀属）不同的类别。然而，最近一些作者将亚洲物种视为一个与非洲物种不同的类别，而不考虑角的数量。此外，还有人将现存的犀牛分为三个没有亲缘关系的类别，其中一类包括非洲双角物种，另一类包括亚洲双角犀牛，第三类包括亚洲独角犀牛。我们利用线粒体DNA核糖体基因的高分辨率限制性酶切图谱研究了现存犀牛的系统关系，我们的结果支持基于角的数量对现存犀牛进行的传统分类。很少有哺乳动物群体比犀牛面临更严重的濒危状况，这项工作中获得的数据应该能为它们的保护提供相关信息。
