Paracamelus


Paracamelus is an extinct genus of camel in the family Camelidae. It originated in North America during the Middle Miocene 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 ancestral to living camels of the genus Camelus. A population remained in northern North America, which became the high Arctic camel, which survived until the Middle Pleistocene approximately 1 Ma.

Taxonomy

Paracamelus was named by Schlosser. Its type is Paracamelus gigas. It was assigned to Camelidae by Carroll.

Fossil distribution

The earliest fossil of Paracamelus is from the Middle Miocene Esmeralda Formation in Nye County Nevada and is between 10–12.5 million years old. After a sea level transgression event, the genus spread to Eurasia arriving in Spain and Italy just prior to the Messinian Salinity Crisis at approximately 6 Ma, before spreading to Africa around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary.