ARKIV FÖR ZOOLOGI. 



BAND 8. N:o 19. 



Notes on Guanacos. 



By 

 EINAR LÖNNBERG. 



With four figures in the text. 

 Read May 14th 1913. 



The Guanaco has a very wide distribution in South Ame- 

 rica from the Andes of Ecuador and Peru to the plains of Pata- 

 gonia and even to Tierra del Fuego. The general opinion 

 among zoologists has been that all this väst area was inha- 

 bited by a single wild species named Lama huanachus Molin a. 

 Last summer I had, however, the opportunity of seeing some 

 material of Guanaco, brought home, from Peru in the year 

 1911 by Dr. Ivar Sefve, which appeared to pro ve that there 

 may exist more than one wild race of this animal. Dr. Sefve's 

 specimens which considerably differ from Guanacos from 

 Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, as will be set forth below, 

 are from a locality about which he has communicated as fol- 

 lows: »The Guanacos are shot at Ccacsile, Nurioa (near S:ta 

 Rosa railroad station), Peru. The plateau itself is situated 

 at an altitude of about 4,000 m. above the sea, but as these 

 animals live near the snow region of the mountains it may 

 be considered that the real altitude of their habitat is about 

 4,500 to 4,600 m. above the sea.» 



With regard to their colour these Guanacos do not differ 

 from southern specimens, but their skulls are very much smaller 

 than skulls from Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, as is shown 

 by the appended table of measurements. But in addition to 



Arkiv för zoologi. Band 8. N:o 19. 1 



