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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