A Llama from the Pleistocene of McKittrick, California

Abstract

In a provisional list of mammals from an asphalt deposit occurring near McKittrick/Kern County, California, a slender-limbed camel was recognized as certainly distinct from the large Camelops hesternus known from Rancho La Brea. Since the preliminary account of the McKittrick asphalt deposit and fauna, further excavating at this locality has resulted in the collection of additional material of the small camel as well as of specimens of a type resembling closely the species Camelops hesternus. The slender-limbed camel is undoubtedly closely related to the living llama of South America, and, since this records, for the first time, the presence of the genus Lama in the Pleistocene of California, if not in that of North America, a preliminary statement regarding the form seems desirable, in advance of a complete survey of the McKittrick mammalian assemblage now in progress. The authors appreciate the courtesy of officials of the Midway Royal Petroleum Company for extension of excavation privileges.

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