Camelops
Encyclopedia
Camelops is an extinct genus
of camels that once roamed western North America
, where it disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene
about 10,000 years ago. Its name is derived from the Greek κάμελος (camel) + (face), thus "camel-face."
period and became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene
. Its extinction was part of a larger North America
n die-off in which native horses
, camelid
s and mastodon
s also died out. This megafaunal extinction
coincided roughly with the appearance of the big game hunting Clovis culture
, and biochemical analyses have shown that Clovis tools were used in butchering camels.
Because soft tissues are generally not preserved in the fossil record, it is not certain if Camelops possessed a hump, like modern camels, or lacked one, like its modern llama
relatives. Camelops hesternus was seven feet (slightly over two meters) at the shoulder, making it slightly taller than modern Bactrian camel
s. Plant remains found in its teeth exhibit little grass, suggesting that the camel was an opportunistic herbivore
; that is, it ate any plants that were available, as do modern camels.
construction site in Mesa, Arizona
in 2007. Workers digging a hole for an ornamental
citrus tree found the bones of two (juvenile and infant) animals that may have lived as long as 10,000 years ago. Arizona State University
Geology Museum curator Brad Archer calls it an important and rare find for the area. Wal-Mart officials and Greenfield Citrus Nursery owner John Babiarz whose crew discovered the remains agreed that the bones will go directly to the Geology Museum at Arizona State University where further research and restoration of the fossils could be done. Camels lived in what is now Arizona until about 8,000 years ago. More camel bones were found in Gilbert, Arizona in May 2008.
, an extinct species that reached at least nine feet (2.7 m) tall at the shoulder.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of camels that once roamed western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, where it disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
about 10,000 years ago. Its name is derived from the Greek κάμελος (camel) + (face), thus "camel-face."
Background
Camelops first appeared during the Late PliocenePliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
period and became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
. Its extinction was part of a larger North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n die-off in which native horses
Equus scotti
Equus scotti is an extinct species of Equus, the genus that includes the horse. E. scotti was native to North America and likely evolved from earlier, more zebra-like North American equids early in the Pleistocene Epoch...
, camelid
Camelid
Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only living family in the suborder Tylopoda. Dromedaries, Bactrian Camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos are in this group....
s and mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
s also died out. This megafaunal extinction
Quaternary extinction event
The Quaternary period saw the extinctions of numerous predominantly larger, especially megafaunal, species, many of which occurred during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene epoch. However, the extinction wave did not stop at the end of the Pleistocene, but continued especially on...
coincided roughly with the appearance of the big game hunting Clovis culture
Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...
, and biochemical analyses have shown that Clovis tools were used in butchering camels.
Because soft tissues are generally not preserved in the fossil record, it is not certain if Camelops possessed a hump, like modern camels, or lacked one, like its modern llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
relatives. Camelops hesternus was seven feet (slightly over two meters) at the shoulder, making it slightly taller than modern Bactrian camel
Bactrian camel
The Bactrian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of central Asia. It is presently restricted in the wild to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and Xinjiang. A small number of wild Bactrian camels still roam the Mangystau Province of southwest...
s. Plant remains found in its teeth exhibit little grass, suggesting that the camel was an opportunistic herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
; that is, it ate any plants that were available, as do modern camels.
Wal-Mart camel
The Wal-Mart camel is the fossil of a prehistoric camel (Camelops sp.) found at a Wal-MartWal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
construction site in Mesa, Arizona
Mesa, Arizona
According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...
in 2007. Workers digging a hole for an ornamental
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
citrus tree found the bones of two (juvenile and infant) animals that may have lived as long as 10,000 years ago. Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
Geology Museum curator Brad Archer calls it an important and rare find for the area. Wal-Mart officials and Greenfield Citrus Nursery owner John Babiarz whose crew discovered the remains agreed that the bones will go directly to the Geology Museum at Arizona State University where further research and restoration of the fossils could be done. Camels lived in what is now Arizona until about 8,000 years ago. More camel bones were found in Gilbert, Arizona in May 2008.
See also
See also Syrian CamelSyrian Camel
The Syrian Camel is an extinct species of camel from Syria. Found to have existed around 100,000 years ago, the camel was up to 3 metres tall at the shoulder, and 4 metres tall overall. The first of the fossils were discovered late in 2005, and several more were discovered about a year later....
, an extinct species that reached at least nine feet (2.7 m) tall at the shoulder.
- AepycamelusAepycamelusAepycamelus is an extinct genus of camelid, formerly called Alticamelus which lived during the Miocene 20.6-4.9 Ma existing for approximately ....
- OxydactylusOxydactylusOxydactylus, is an extinct terrestrial herbivorous genus of the tribe Camelini, family Camelidae, endemic to North America Oligocene through the Middle Miocene and in existence for approximately ....
- PoebrotheriumPoebrotheriumPoebrotherium is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore the family Camelidae, endemic to North America from the Eocene through Oligocene 38—30.8 mya, existing for approximately .-Discovery and history:...
- ProcamelusProcamelusProcamelus is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore the family Camelidae, endemic to North America from the Oligocene through Miocene 20.6—4.9 mya, existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:Priscocamelus was named by Leidy . It is not extant...
- ProtylopusProtylopusProtylopus is an extinct genus of camel, lived during middle to late Eocene some 45-40 million years ago in North America.The oldest camel known, it was also the smallest, reaching a length of , and probably weighing around . Based on its teeth, it probably fed on the soft leaves of forest plants...
- StenomylusStenomylusStenomylus is an extinct genus of miniature camelid native to North America. Its name is derived from the Greek στείνος, "narrow" and μύλος, "molar."...
- Pleistocene megafaunaPleistocene megafaunaPleistocene megafauna is the set of species of large animals — mammals, birds and reptiles — that lived on Earth during the Pleistocene epoch and became extinct in a Quaternary extinction event. These species appear to have died off as humans expanded out of Africa and southern Asia,...