Camelops

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Camelops
Fossil range: late Pliocene to late Pleistocene

Camelops hesternus

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Camelidae
Tribe:	†Camelopini
Genus:	†Camelops

Species

†Camelops sulcatus
†Camelops huerfanensis
†Camelops kansanus
†Camelops traviswhitei
†Camelops hesternus
†Camelops minidokae

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) + ὀψ (face), thus "camel-face."

Camelops hesternus

Camelops first appeared during the Late Pliocene period and became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene. The reason for its extinction is poorly understood but was part of a larger North American die-off in which native horses, camelids and mastodons also died out.

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 camels. 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.

See also Syrian Camel, an extinct species that reached at least nine feet (2.7 m) tall at the shoulder.