Page "Javan rhinoceros" Paragraph 3

The first studies of the Javan rhinoceros by naturalists from outside of its region took place in 1787, when two animals were shot in Java.

The skulls were sent to the renowned Dutch naturalist Petrus Camper, who died in 1789 before he was able to publish his discovery that the rhinos of Java were a distinct species.

Another Javan rhinoceros was shot on the island of Sumatra by Alfred Duvaucel, who sent the specimen to his stepfather Georges Cuvier, the famous French scientist.

Cuvier recognized the animal as a distinct species in 1822, and in the same year it was identified by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest as Rhinoceros sondaicus.

It was the last species of rhinoceros to be identified.

Desmarest initially identified the rhino as being from Sumatra, but later amended this to say his specimen was from Java.