286 



BACTRIAN CAMEL 



Camels may be the descendants of animals belonging to the in- 

 habitants of those cities. A strayed herd of Camels has established 

 itself in a feral state in Spain. Otherwise the genus does not 

 occur in Europe. The Camels are also represented in the New 

 World. The genus Lama (Auchenia of many authors) belongs to 

 this family. These Camels differ from their allies in the Old 

 World by their smaller size, by the absence of the characteristic 

 hump, and by the dropping of one premolar, the dental formula 



Flu. 148. Bactrian Camel. Camelus bactrianus. x^. 



being otherwise similar. A variety of names, Lama, Alpaca, 

 Huanaco, Vicuna, have been applied to these animals ; but it 

 appears that the names are in excess of the number of the species. 

 Mr. Thomas, who has lately inquired into the matter, will only 

 allow two, the Huanaco, Lama huanacos, of which there are two 

 domestic races, the Llama and the Alpaca, and the Vicuna, Lama 

 vicugna. They are both South American in range. Not only is 

 there a herd of escaped Camels in Spain, but the Spaniards 

 attempted to introduce and acclimatise the useful Lama. The first 

 Lama ever seen in Europe was brought in the year 1558 to 



