LLAMAS. 



4i3 



their toes more completely separated, each toe being furnished with a distinct pad 

 on the sole. The whole of the body is covered with a thick coat of long hair 

 partaking of a woolly nature ; and there are fewer callosities on the limbs than in 

 the camels. As characters of minor import, it may be added that the head is pro- 

 portionately longer than in the latter, and has a tapering and sharply-pointed 

 muzzle, while the neck is relatively thinner. 



The skull has one tooth on each side of the upper jaw less than in the camels, 

 the missing tooth being the isolated sharp-pointed premolar which is found in the 

 latter in the middle of the gap between the tusk and the main series of cheek-teeth. 

 Consequently the total number of teeth is only thirty-two instead of thirty-four. 

 The premolar tooth in the lower jaw, which is of very small size, not unfrequently, 

 however, falls out in the adult, and thus reduces the number to thirty. 



„. . ,,. , Llamas at the present day are entirely confined to the western and 



Distribution. x J J 



southern regions of South America, and can live only where the climate 



is temperate. Thus on the western side of the continent they are restricted to the 

 higher ranges of the Andes and Cordilleras, but in many parts, Patagonia and 

 Tierra-del-Fuego, they flourish on the plains at the sea-level. In the neighbour- 

 hood of the Equator they are generally found at elevations of between twelve 

 thousand and sixteen thousand feet above the sea, and they never descend lower 

 than between six thousand and seven thousand feet. During the rainy part of the 

 year the wild species which inhabit the mountains ascend to the limits of vegeta- 

 tion, but in the hot season they descend to the valleys where alone sustenance is to 

 be found. They live in larger or smaller parties, and sometimes congregate in 

 herds comprising many hundreds of individuals. All the species are characterised 

 by their very objectionable habit of spitting, as many visitors to zoological gardens 

 well know. 



There are two wild species of llama now existing, respectively 

 Species. L . . 



known as the vicunia and the guanaco, and likewise two domestic- 

 ated races, namely, the llama and the alpaca. For a long period much uncertainty 

 existed as to the relationship of these domesticated races to the wild species, but 

 the researches of Mr. O. Thomas have led to the conclusion that both the former 

 are in all probability derived from the wild guanaco, with which they agree 

 in the proportionately large size of their skulls, and the presence of naked patches 

 on the hind-limbs. 



The vicunia (Lama vicunia') is the smaller of the two wild 



species, and is of a uniform light-brown colour, becoming paler on the 



under-parts and limbs, and with light markings on the face and jaws. The build 



of the animal is very light and graceful ; its head is relatively short, and it has no 



naked callosities on the hind-legs. In correlation with the shortness of the head, 



the skull is of proportionately small size. This species has a somewhat restricted 



range, being confined to the mountains in the district between Southern Ecuador 



and Central Bolivia, which includes the whole of Peru. 



According to the account of Tschudi, during the wet season of the 

 Habits. fe . . . 



year the vicunias seek the highest ridges of the Cordillera, where 



plant-life is but sparse. On account of the softness of their feet, they prefer 



upland meadows, and avoid the stony, naked peaks, while they still more carefully 



