Rhinoceros specimens included in anatomical and morphological studies by Professor Alexander J. E. Cave (Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae)

Abstract

Alexander James Edward Cave (1900–2001) was a superb anatomist who extensively improved our knowledge of rhinoceros anatomy and osteology; he also published several studies on the osteology of other groups of mammals and one conservation-focused study about numbers of Ceratotherium cottoni in Uganda. Our contribution contains an identification of the rhinoceros specimens examined by A. J. E. Cave, his complete bibliography related to rhinoceroses, and two recommendations in accord to his legacy. All Cave’s morphological and genetic studies should specify the exact geographic origin of the wild rhinoceroses, if known, and some unambiguous reference numbers in the case of collections and/or captive-based specimens. Cataloguing of extinct and near-extinct extant rhinoceroses in world collections, future preservation of the collection material and its anatomical/morphological documentation for the last remnants of Ceratotherium cottoni, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, as well as Rhinoceros sondaicus and localized wild-based specimens of Diceros bicornis is highly recommended.