68 VERTEBRATES : MAMMALS. 



prises the Camels of the Old World and the Llamas of 

 the New. 



The Genus Camelus comprises the Camels, which have 

 the two toes united below nearly to the point by a com- 

 mon sole, and the back furnished with humps of fat. 

 They are natives of Central and Southwestern Asia, and 

 from earliest times have been celebrated for their impor- 

 tant services to the inhabitants of the arid regions of the 

 East. Possessed of great strength and power of endur- 

 ance, capable of subsisting on the coarsest and most 

 scanty vegetation, able to travel for days without drink- 

 ing, having feet suited to walking over sand, and withal 

 gentle and obedient, the Camel is as indispensable to the 

 merchant and traveller for traversing the deserts of Asia 

 and Africa, as are vessels for crossing the ocean. The 

 Camel can bear from five hundred to one thousand pounds 

 during a long journey. It kneels to receive and to be 

 relieved of its load. With an intuitive knowledge of its 

 own powers, it obstinately refuses to rise when a greater 

 load is put upon it than it can comfortably bear. The 

 power of resisting thirst is due to the large number of 

 cells on the walls of the paunch, in which is stored an 

 extra supply of water. Camels have canine teeth in 

 both jaws, two pointed teeth in the incisor bone, six 

 incisors in the lower jaw, and eighteen to twenty molars ; 

 peculiarities unknown among all other Ruminants. 



The Two-humped Camel, C. bactrianus, Cuv., is origi- 

 nally from Central Asia. This species is ten feet long, 

 and eight feet high between the humps. 



The One-humped Camel, C. dromedarius, Linn., smaller 

 than the last, has spread from Arabia into Persia, Syria, 

 and Africa. The Dromedary is a variety of this species. 



The Genus Auchenia Llamas differs from the pre- 

 ceding in having the two toes separate, and in the absence 

 of humps. The Llamas are confined to South America, 



