Camelops
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| ?Camelops Conservation status: Prehistoric |
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 Camelops hesternus
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Camelops sulcatus |
Camelops is an extinct genus of camels that once roamed western North America, where it appeared about 45 million years ago. It migrated to Eurasia and Africa around 2 to 3 million years ago, contrary to various other animals that migrated to North America. Its name is derived from the Greek κάμελος (camel) + ὀψ (face), thus "camel-face."
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 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 tall at the shoulder.
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