Camelus thomasi pomel, 1893 from the pleistocene type-locality tighennif (Algeria). comparisons with modern camelus

Abstract

We describe here the whole collection of Camelus thomasi Pomel, 1893 from the Pleistocene type-locality Tighennif (Ternifine) in Algeria. Detailed morphological and metric comparisons with the two species of modern Camelus Linnaeus, 1758, C. bactrianus Linnaeus, 1758 and C. dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758, show that it is clearly distinct from both of them. It is mainly characterized by pachyostosis especially marked in the mandible, a size slightly greater than modern forms, broad molars with strong styles, and several unique cranial features. The species seems restricted to the terminal Early Pleistocene and is not definitely known outside Northwestern Africa. A phylogenetic analysis is premature, but C. thomasi does not appear to be particularly close to either modern species, and there is no support to regard it as an ancestor of the dromedary.