However, the populations in the arid areas of northern Namibia and southwestern Angola represent a separate subspecies.

[2] The holotype specimen, a male, was about 16 months old when caught alive by a Mr. Müller in 1914 near the Kunene River (Kaokoveld, border region between Namibia and Angola), and shipped to the Tierpark Hagenbeck, the Hamburg Zoo, in Germany.

Its appearance is similar to other subspecies, the most important difference to them is a relatively broad head behind the eyes and minor features in the dentition.

[1] This synonymy, based upon du Toit (1987)[6] was, however, considered erroneous by Groves and Grubb (2011), and D. b. occidentalis was re-established as a valid subspecies.

As all southernmost populations of black rhinoceros were exterminated by the mid-19th century, D. b. bicornis is completely extinct today.