Evolution and present situation of the South American Camelidae

This paper provides a review of South American camelid evolution, classification and present status. Particular attention is paid to the debate concerning origins of the domestic alpaca and llama and the contribution of research on faunal remains from Andean archaeological sites towards resolving this issue. Changes in incisor morphology during the domestication process suggest that the alpaca may be descended from the vicuna, while a comparison of fibre production characteristics in preconquest and extant llama and alpaca breeds indicates that extensive hybridization between the two species is likely to have occurred since European contact. The potential role of hybridization in the formation of extant South American camelid populations has not been studied, and may be the root cause of taxonomic disputes.