Aguascalientia
Name:
Aguascalientia.
Phonetic: A-gu-ah-cal-e-en-te-ah.
Named By: Stevens - 1977.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia,
Artiodactyla, Camelidae.
Species: A. wilsoni
(type), A. minuta, A. panamaensis.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Up to 34kg in weight.
Known locations: Mexico. USA, Texas.
Time period: Aquitanian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: A few individuals.
Aguascalientia
was a miniature camel that lived across the southern portions of the
continent of North America, though it was not one of the ‘true’
camels that we know today. Its small size displays well how many of
today’s larger mammals from camels to horses to even elephants had
very humble beginnings in terms of size. Aguascalientia
lived in
North America at a time when the lush tropical forests were giving way
to expanses of open grass land, a change that was forcing animals to
adapt to be able to undertake more energy efficient locomotion.
Possible predators of Aguascalientia may have
included nimravids
and
amphicyonids,
better known as ‘false sabre-toothed cats’ and
‘bear dogs’ respectively.
Only
the type species of Aguascalientia was known until
2012 when both
A. minuta and A. panamaensis
were named by Rincon et al.
Further reading
- New floridatragulines (Mammalia, Camelidae) from the early
Miocene Las Cascadas Formation, Panama, A. F. Rincon, J.
I. Bloch, C. Suarez, B. J. MacFadden & C. A.
Jaramillo - 2012.
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