UW4499 - Camelops hesternus, Lower Jaw

Description

* Period/Epoch: Quaternary / Pleistocene * Rock Formation: Unknown * State, County: CO, Las Animas Taxonomy: Mammalia>Artiodactyla>Camelidae>Camelops hesternus Camelops hesternus was a species of western North American camel that lived from the middle Pliocene to the early Holocene. It would have been similar in size to modern Bactrian camels, though it’s unknown if this camel possessed humps or not. They are genetically closer to true camels from Asia than they are to alpacas, guanacos, llamas, and vicunas of the American continents. Camelops’ ancestors likely came to North America through the Bering Land Bridge during the Miocene, and Camelops hesternus went extinct during the end-Pleistocene, possibly as a result of hunting. This specimen shows a lower jaw. Scanned with the David SLS-2