I found an article claiming that the femur of the rhino is the hardest bone in the animal kingdom. I would like to know the mechanical properties of the hardest bone in the animal kingdom, and, if it is the femur of the rhino, then I would like to know the mechanical properties of the femur of the rhino. Thanks!
I personally would not expect the rhino to have different mechanical properties compared to humans, mouse or any vertebrate. Sure, size and dimensions will differ, adjusted to the higher biomechanical forces in the rhino. All vertebrates will have skeletons that are as light and as strong as possible; the natural aim is not to create heavy skeletons. That is not to say that genetic differences may be present. Point is, having an extra "hard" skeleton may not be beneficial to anyone.
The mechanical properties depend on the geometric and material properties. There is a variation in the properties of the material (see Currey 1985) as, for example, in bird bone, since, being a pneumatic bone it must have of good quality to support its wall / light ratio. In the case of the rhinoceros, if the data is as you say, I would tend to think that it is because of the geometrical properties of the bone rather than the qualities of the material. See also Scheinsohn and Ferretti 1995 ( in my RG page) on variations in bone material quality and geometric properties in different animal bones nd how they influenced their use as raw material in the past.
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