Alpaca
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| Vicugna pacos (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.
[change] Description
Camelids originated on the central plains of North America. The ancestral camelids migrated to South America. By the end of the last ice age, camelids became extinct in North America. The ancestral camelid developed into the present day wild vicuna and wild guanaco of the Andean highlands (Peru, Bolivia, and Chile) of South America.
[change] Domestication
About 5,000 to 6,000 years ago the natives began the domestication of the vicuna into the present day alpaca as a fiber producing animal.
