Table of Contents

Perissodactylids

Perissodactylids group of wild animals consists of families- Equidae (equids) and Tapiridae (tapirs) and Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceroses).

The middle digit of the fore and hind limbs is present in a prominent manner, carrying much of the body weight.

Equids

The following members belong to equidae:

Wild horse (Przewalski’s wild horse).
Wild asses (Number of Asian and African wild asses): Seen in Gujarat state.
Zebras

All members of equidae family are solipeds and like the domestic horse they are descendants of the early ‘dawn horse’ (Eohippus) of some million years ago.

Tapirs

These animals fall in the family tapiridae. The tapirs resemble the short-tailed donkey in case of general form and size. The nose and upper lip are extended to form a short but highly mobile trunk.

These animals are represented by four species in a single genus, as quoted below:

Brazilian tapirs (Tapirus terestrus).
Mountain or woolly tapirs (Tapirus pinchaque).
Saddleback or Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus): Restricted to south east Asia.
Baird’s tapirs (Tapirus bairdii).

Rhinoceroses

These wild animals belong to the Rhinocerotidae family. The rhinoceroses have following common features general:

Massive body
Short leg that end on broad, three-toed feet.
Horny pads of the feet are delicate when compared to the size of the animal.

Asiatic and African species of rhinoceroses are available, in general.

Asiatic Species

Three are four Asiatic species of rhinoceroses:

Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus).
Sumatran rhinoceros (Didermocerus sumatrensis): These are called as Asiatic two horned rhinoceroses.
Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).

Indian rhinoceroses

Among rhinoceroses, the Indian rhinoceroses are the ones that are most primitive in appearance with its armor like hide and small head and are one horned.

The skin is having a rugged appearance with armor like plates on body.

The animal is well distributed in the Gangetic plain. The animals are present in Assam and in parts of West Bengal.

These animals are highly suited to the swampy tarai habitat. This is territorial in nature.

African Rhinos

There are two species of African rhinos, as quoted below:

White rhinoceros ( Didermocerus sinus)
Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)