A camel is an even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide food and textiles. Camels are working animals especially suited to their desert habitat and are a vital means of transport for passengers and cargo. There are three surviving species of camel. The one-humped dromedary makes up 94% of the world's camel population, and the two-humped Bactrian camel makes up 6%. The wild Bactrian camel is a distinct species that is not ancestral to the domestic Bactrian camel, and is now critically endangered, with less than 1,000 individuals.
Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos. Camelids are even-toed ungulates classified in the order Artiodactyla, along with species including whales, pigs, deer, cattle, and antelopes.
Lama is a genus containing the extant South American camelids: the wild guanaco and vicuña and the domesticated llama, alpaca, and chilihueque. Before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, llamas, alpacas, and chilihueques were the only domesticated ungulates of the continent. They were kept not only for their value as beasts of burden, but also for their flesh, hides, and wool.
Camelops is an extinct genus of camel that lived in North and Central America, ranging from Alaska to Honduras, from the middle Pliocene to the end of the Pleistocene. It is much more closely related to living camels than to lamines, making it a true camel of the Camelini tribe. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek κάμηλος and ὄψ, i.e. "camel-face".
Anancus is an extinct genus of "tetralophodont gomphothere" native to Afro-Eurasia, that lived from the Tortonian stage of the late Miocene until its extinction during the Early Pleistocene, roughly from 8.5–2 million years ago.
Poebrotherium is an extinct genus of camelid, endemic to North America. They lived from the Eocene to Miocene epochs, 46.3—13.6 mya, existing for approximately 32 million years.
Kolpochoerus is an extinct genus of the pig family Suidae related to the modern-day genera Hylochoerus, Phacochoerus, and Potamochoerus. It is believed that most of them inhabited African forests, as opposed to the bushpig and red river hog that inhabit open brush and savannas. There are currently eleven recognized species.
Asoriculus is an extinct genus of terrestrial shrews in the subfamily Soricinae and tribe Nectogalini, native to Europe and North Africa.
Prolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph. Over 20 species have been named, and the genus was abundant and widespread in Europe during the Neogene. However, by the end of the Middle Pleistocene, it was confined to a single species, the Sardinian pika, on the Corsica, Sardinia, and surrounding islands, where it survived into historical times. In North Africa and Western Asia, the genus is known from the Miocene and Pliocene. The scientific name may mean "before hares" or "primitive hares". Its taxonomy is disputed, with it either being considered a member of the family Ochotonidae, which includes living pikas, or the only member of the family Prolagidae.
Zygolophodon is an extinct genus of mammutid proboscidean that lived during the Miocene in Africa, Eurasia, and North America.
Hemiauchenia is a genus of laminoid camelids that evolved in North America in the Miocene period about 10 million years ago. This genus diversified and entered South America in the Late Pliocene about 3-2 million years ago, as part of the Great American Biotic Interchange. The genus became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene. The monophyly of the genus has been considered questionable, with phylogenetic analyses finding the genus to paraphyletic or polyphyletic, with some species suggested to be more closely related to living lamines than to other Hemiaucenia species.
Camelini is a tribe of camelids including all camelids more closely related to modern camels (Camelus) than to Lamini, from which camelines split Approximately 17 million years ago. The tribe originated in North America, with the genus Paracamelus migrating over the Bering Land Bridge into Eurasia during the Late Miocene, about 6 million years ago, becoming ancestral to Camelus. The last member of Camelini in North America was Camelops, which became extinct as part of the Quaternary extinction event at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 12,000 years ago.
Megacamelus is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore in the family Camelidae, endemic to North America from the Miocene through Pliocene 10.3—4.9 mya, existing for approximately 5.4 million years.
Pleiolama is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore in the family Camelidae, endemic to North America during the Pliocene.
Camelinae is a subfamily of artiodactyls of the family Camelidae. Camelinae include the tribes Camelini and Lamini. A third tribe, Camelopini, created by S. D. Webb (1965), was formerly included, but was discarded by J. A. Harrison (1979) after it was shown to be polyphyletic: it consisted of the genera Camelops and Megatylopus, which were moved to Camelini and Lamini respectively.
Palaeolama is an extinct genus of laminoid camelids that existed from the Late Pliocene to the Early Holocene. Their range extended from North America to the intertropical region of South America.
The Shungura Formation is a stratigraphic formation located in the Omo river basin in Ethiopia. It dates to the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Oldowan tools have been found in the formation, suggesting early use of stone tools by hominins. Among many others, fossils of Panthera were found in Member G of the formation.
The greater Turkana Basin in East Africa determines a large endorheic basin, a drainage basin with no outflow centered around the north-southwards directed Gregory Rift system in Kenya and southern Ethiopia. The deepest point of the basin is the endorheic Lake Turkana, a brackish soda lake with a very high ecological productivity in the Gregory Rift.
The Manix Formation is a geologic formation in California. This formation dates to the Pleistocene Epoch and is known to preserve fossils. Specimens of the extinct camelid, Camelops have been uncovered from the Rancholabrean units of this formation of both the species C. hesternus and C. minidokae.
Camelus thomasi is an extinct species of camel from the Early-Mid Pleistocene of North Africa. It is known primarily from Tighennif (Ternifine) in Algeria. Fossils from northern Sudan and Israel dated to the Late Pleistocene have been included under C. thomasi, but they are now considered to belong to different species, making C. thomasi a strictly Northwest African species.
features. Some studies have linked it as a possible ancestor to the dromedary, while others suggest it may be more closely related to the Bactrian camel of central Asia. However, a 2018 study revealed such assertions to be lacking any scientific basis, and C. thomasi appears to not be closely related to any living camel.
