Which type of rhinoceros is the largest on average?

The white rhinoceros is the largest rhinoceros species on average. Also called the square-lipped rhinoceros, it can weigh roughly 1,600–4,000 kilograms, with exceptionally large individuals reaching about 4,500 kilograms.

Its size reflects a grazing lifestyle on African grasslands. The white rhino’s broad, wide-set mouth is adapted for cropping grass, while its distinctive muscular hump supports the heavy head and neck needed for feeding close to the ground. It is the largest of the five living rhinoceros species and one of the largest land mammals after elephants.

A common mix-up involves the greater one-horned, or Indian, rhinoceros. That species is also extremely large, and some individuals overlap in weight with white rhinos, but the white rhinoceros has the greater average body mass. Another misconception is that white rhinos are white: their skin is actually gray. The name likely arose from a mistranslation or confusion involving the Afrikaans word for “wide,” referring to the animal’s mouth.