Topic
Extinction Project: Camelops Hersternus
Instructions
Write an extinction project on the Camelops Hersternus.
Answer preview
Camelops Hersternus is an extinct genus of camel of that once roamed western North America, where it disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene about 10,000 years ago. During the late Oligocene and early Miocene periods, camels underwent swift evolutionary change, resulting in several genera with different anatomical structures, ranging from those with short limbs, those with gazelle-like bodies, and giraffe-like camels with long legs and long necks. This rich diversity decreased until only a few species, such as Camelops hesternus, remained in North America, before going extinct entirely around 11,000 years ago. Camelops’ extinction was part of a larger North American die-off. in which native horses and camelids also died out. Possibilities for extinction include global climate change and hunting pressure from the arrival of the Clovis people, who were prolific hunters with distinct fluted stone tools which allowed for a spear to be attached to the stone tool. This megafaunal extinction coincided roughly with the appearance of the big game hunting or the Clovis culture, and biochemical analyses have shown that Clovis tools were used in butchering camels.
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