Lamini

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Tribe of mammals

title: "Lamini" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["camelids", "mammals-of-south-america", "mammal-tribes"] description: "Tribe of mammals" topic_path: "general/camelids" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamini" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Tribe of mammals ::

| oldest_fossil = Miocene | image = Vicugna vicugna in Liberec ZOO in Liberec, Liberec District.jpg | image_caption = Vicuña (Lama vicugna) | taxon = Lamini | authority = Webb, 1965 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = *Alforjas Harrison, 1979

Lamini (members are called lamines) is a tribe of the subfamily Camelinae. It contains one extant genus with four species, all exclusively from South America: llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos. The former two are domesticated species, while the latter two are only found in the wild. The four species can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Additionally, there are several extinct genera.

The digestive system of lamoids allows them to digest certain toxins. Laminoids also lack a gallbladder.

Evolutionary history

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Hemiauchenia_macrocephala_FLMNH.jpg" caption="''[[Hemiauchenia]]'', one of the most widespread and successful prehistoric lamines"] ::

Lamines originated during the Miocene in North America, and migrated into South America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange. Most species of lamines, including the genera Hemiauchenia and Palaeolama and all North American species, became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene around 12,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event along with most other large mammals in the Americas.

Characteristics and distribution

The llama (Lama glama) is the largest of the extant laminoids and weighs 130 – with a height of 109 – at the shoulder. Commercial trade led to the llama's current abundance in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and northeast Argentina. There are bands of llamas in the United States, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand.

The color and length of the llama's wool is variable, depending on the race. The diameter of llama wool's fiber varies between 20 and 80 micrometers, depending on whether the llamas were raised for its wool or as a pack animal.

The guanaco (Lama guanicoe) is a wild camelid, standing at 100 – at the shoulder Its pelage is longer than vicuña wool but shorter than that of the alpaca; it is considered to be of excellent quality and has a light brown, reddish, or brown-yellow color. The diameter of its fleece's fibers varies between 16 and 18 micrometers.

90% of the world's guanacos are in Argentina, distributed from the islands of the Beagle Channel and the southern extremity of Patagonia to the Puna grassland in northwestern Argentina. Guanacos can also be found in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru.

The alpaca (Lama pacos), a domestic camelid, weighs between 50 and, while its height at the shoulder is 94 –. It is slightly larger than the vicuña. Normally, the alpaca is found in the Andes in Peru and Bolivia, though it also inhabits northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. There are about 3.5 million alpacas in the world. In the 1980s, alpacas started being exported to other countries for farming purposes: they can be found in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, though the vast majority still reside in South America.

The alpaca is mainly raised for its wool. Out of the domestic camelids, the alpaca produces wool with longer and finer fiber than the llama,

The vicuña (Lama vicugna) is the smallest camelid, with a shoulder height of 75 – and a weight of 40 –. Its coat is mainly beige in color and is said to make "the best wool in the world", with the average fiber diameter between 11 and 14 micrometers.{{cite web| publisher = Discovery Communications, LLC| title = Mammal Guide: Vicuña| work = Animal Planet| access-date = 11 December 2012| url = http://animal.discovery.com/guides/mammals/habitat/tempgrassland/vicuna.html

References

References

  1. Wheeler, Jane C.. (2012). "South American camelids - past, present and future". Journal of Camelid Science.
  2. Fowler, Murray E.. (1998). "Medicine and surgery of South American camelids: llama, alpaca, vicuña, guanaco". Blackwell.
  3. Hogan, C. Michael. (2008). "Guanaco: Lama guanicoe". GlobalTwitcher.
  4. (December 2020). "Description of a fossil camelid from the Pleistocene of Argentina, and a cladistic analysis of the Camelinae". [[Swiss Journal of Palaeontology]].
  5. (March 2017). "The oldest record of Hemiauchenia Gervais and Ameghino (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) in South America: Comments about its paleobiogeographic and stratigraphic implications". Geobios.
  6. Furlong, Charles Wellington. (October 1912 – March 1913). "Hunting the Guanaco". The Outing Magazine.
  7. "San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes: Guanaco". Zoological Society of San Diego.
  8. Baldi, R.B.. (2016). "''Lama guanicoe''".
  9. Stahl, Peter W.. (4 April 2008). "Handbook of South American Archaeology". Springer.
  10. Castillo-Ruiz, Alexandra. "Lama pacos: alpaca". University of Michigan.

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camelidsmammals-of-south-americamammal-tribes