Camelus thomasi
Temporal range: Early - Mid Pleistocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Camelidae
Genus: Camelus
Species:
†C. thomasi
Binomial name
†Camelus thomasi
(Pomel, 1893)

Camelus thomasi (also known as Thomas' Camel) is an extinct species of camel from the Early-Mid Pleistocene of North Africa. It is known primarily from Tighennif (Ternifine) in Algeria, as well as Sudan. Fossils from Israel dated to the Late Pleistocene have been included under C. thomasi, but they are now considered to belong to a different species, making C. thomasi a strictly African species.[1]

Description

Camelus thomasi was larger than any living species of camel. Other defining characteristics include pachyostosis especially marked in the mandible, broad molars with strong styles, and several unique cranial features. Some studies have linked it as a possible ancestor to the dromedary,[2] while others suggest it may be more closely related to the Bactrian camel of central Asia.[3] However, a 2018 study revealed such assertions to be lacking any scientific basis, and C. thomasi appears to not be closely related to any living camel.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Thomsen, Søren Bay Kruse (May 29, 2021). "The Mysterious Origins of the Dromedary". The Extinctions. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  2. ↑ Peters, J. (1997). "Camelus thomasi Pomel, 1893, a possible ancestor of the one-humped camel?". Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 63: 372–376.
  3. ↑ Gautier, A. (November 1966). "Camelus thomasi from the Northern Sudan and Its Bearing on the Relationship C. thomasi: C. bactrianus". Journal of Paleontology. 40 (6): 1368–1372. JSTOR 1301954. Archived from the original on 2021-07-22. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  4. ↑ Martini, Pietro; Geraads, Denis (March 2018). "Camelus thomasi Pomel, 1893 from the Pleistocene type-locality Tighennif (Algeria). Comparisons with modern Camelus". Geodiversitas. 40: 115–134. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2018v40a5. S2CID 133952148.
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