| Aepycamelus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parts of skeleton atAmerican Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Camelidae |
| Subfamily: | Camelinae |
| Tribe: | Camelini |
| Genus: | †Aepycamelus MacDonald, 1956 |
| Species | |
†Aepycamelus alexandrae(Davidson, 1923) | |
 | |
| Geographic range ofAepycamelus | |
Aepycamelus is anextinctgenus ofcamelids that lived during theMiocene 20.6–4.9 million years ago, existing for about15.7 million years.[1] Its name is derived from theHomeric Greekαἰπύς, "high and steep" and κάμηλος – "camel";[2][3] thus, "high camel";alticamelus inLatin.
Aepycamelus spp. walked on their toes only. Unlike earlierspecies of camelids, they possessed cushioned pads like those of moderncamels.[4]
Aepycamelus was formerly referred to the genusAlticamelus, which Matthew (1901) erected for"Procamelus" altus Marsh, 1894, a camel species described from a calcaneum found in Neogene deposits in Oregon, after he referred a complete skeleton of a tall camel from Colorado to that species. Matthew and Cook (1909) erectedAlticamelus giraffinus for the Colorado specimen after recognizing theA. altus holotype as indeterminate.[5][6] MacDonald (1956) recognizedAlticamelus as a nomen dubium and erectedAepycamelus for species previously assigned toAlticamelus.[7]
Aepycamelus was aprairie dweller ofNorth America (Colorado, etc.). It was a highly specialized animal. Its head was relatively small compared with the rest of its body, its neck was long, as a result ofgiraffe-like lengthening of thecervical vertebrae, and its legs were long and stilt-like, with the elbow and knee joints on the same level. The top of its head was about 3 m (9.8 ft) above the ground.[4]
Its strange body structure gives information on its mode of life and habits.Aepycamelus obviously inhabited drygrasslands with groups of trees. It is presumed to have moved about singly or in small groups, like today's giraffes, and like them, browsed high up in the trees. In this respect, it had no competitors. It survived a relatively long time, through most of the Miocene epoch, and died out prior to the start of thePliocene, possibly due to climatic changes.[8]
Itsfossils are distributed widely, fromMontana toFlorida toCalifornia.
