twohorned

Twohorned is an English adjective describing something that has two horns. It is typically hyphenated as two-horned and is used primarily as a descriptive term rather than a formal taxonomic designation.

Etymology and spelling: The word is formed from the numeral two and the noun horn, with the suffix -ed. Spelling variants include two-horned and, less commonly, twohorned when used in running text or in certain compound names.

Biological usage: In biology and field guides, two-horned is used to characterize organisms with two horn-like projections. It is most commonly encountered in discussions of rhinoceroses, where two-horned forms include the white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros. Some rhinoceros species, such as the Indian, Javan, and Sumatran rhinos, have a single horn, illustrating the descriptor’s lack of taxonomic precision.

Limitations and note: The term two-horned is not a formal scientific name or a universal diagnostic label. It can be ambiguous when used without context, and it is more about descriptive morphology than about taxonomy. When precision is required, scientists prefer exact genus- and species-level nomenclature.

See also: Horned animal, One-horned, Rhinoceros, Morphology.