Camelops

Although certainly not the only North American camel known to us,‭ ‬Camelops seems to have been the last to go extinct.‭ ‬The theories as to why this happened are controversial but in the case of Camelops human hunting was certainly a contributing factor since evidence of butchery‭ (‬the processing of a carcass for food‭) ‬has been found on some Camelops fossils from the time that they disappeared.‭ ‬It is important to remember however that the climate of North America was undergoing considerable changes during the end of the Pleistocene as well,‭ ‬something that would have reduced Camelops populations even further. It is not certain if Camelops had a prominent hump or even humps like today’s camels,‭ ‬but the vertebrae of Camelops do have prominent neural spines similar to the Dromedary‭ (‬Camelus dromedarius‭)‬.‭ ‬By comparison it is at least possible that Camelops may have had a hump.‭ ‬Some plant remains have been found between the teeth of Camelops,‭ ‬analysis of which suggests that Camelops was a generalist herbivore that fed upon whatever plants were available.