| Paracamelus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification |
Paracamelus is an extinct genus of camel in the family Camelidae. It originated in North America during the Middle Miocene epoch but crossed the Beringian land bridge into Eurasia during the Late Miocene, approximately 7.5–6.5 Ma; its later range spanned from Spain and Italy to Chad and Shanxi Province, China. It is the ancient ancestor of extant camels, which was confirmed form a DNA analysis of different camel’s collagen sequences. This genus eventually died out in the early Pleistocene from climate change and human hunting.
Age and paleoenvironment[]
Unlike camel species today, the High Arctic camel inhabited a cold temperate environment, covered in snowy forests and small grasslands. This environment would give it more access to a wider range of food, but would also come with the challenge of predators (cougars, Smilodon, bears, wolves).