LLAMAS. 
4 i 3 
Distribution. 
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 
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 
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 
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 
Species. 
Vicunia. 
Habits. 
