Extinct Camels and Llamas of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
North America's Native Camels

Many people are surprised to learn that camels did not originate in Africa or Asia. The camel family evolved in North America and flourished here for millions of years before some species migrated to Asia and South America. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park preserves an important record of these remarkable animals and their evolutionary history.
The fossil deposits of Anza-Borrego contain the remains of several members of the camel family, including extinct camels and llama-like species that once inhabited southern California during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Their fossils help scientists reconstruct ancient environments and trace the history of one of North America's most successful groups of large mammals.

Camels and Llamas in Ancient Anza-Borrego
During the Pliocene, the region that is now Anza-Borrego was very different from the modern desert. Rivers, wetlands, grasslands, and floodplains associated with the ancestral Colorado River supported a rich variety of mammals, including horses, mammoths, ground sloths, and camelids.

Among the most common camelids were llama-like animals that traveled in herds across broad floodplains and delta environments. Fossil bones recovered from the Fish Creek-Vallecito Basin and surrounding areas document their long presence in the region.
These animals were well adapted to open landscapes and likely browsed and grazed on a variety of vegetation. Their success allowed camelids to become one of the dominant groups of large herbivores in western North America.

A Family That Conquered Two Continents
Camelids originated in North America and later spread into both Asia and South America. The descendants of these migrations survive today as the camels of Africa and Asia and the llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos of South America. 

The fossil record preserved at Anza-Borrego captures part of this important evolutionary story. Camelids were among the mammals that participated in major faunal exchanges between continents and played a significant role in the development of modern mammal communities.

Footprints from the Past
Anza-Borrego preserves not only camel bones but also fossil footprints. Some of the most remarkable evidence of ancient camelids comes from track-bearing deposits in the Vallecito-Fish Creek Basin.

Approximately three million years ago, groups of llama-like animals crossed muddy floodplains and left tracks that were preserved in sediment. Today those footprints provide direct evidence of the behavior, movement, and environments of animals that lived long before humans arrived in North America.

These fossil trackways help scientists estimate body size, gait, herd behavior, and the nature of the ancient landscape.

What Camel Fossils Tell Us
Camel fossils provide valuable information about:
  • Ancient grassland and floodplain environments
  • Mammal evolution in North America
  • Migration between continents
  • The development of modern camel and llama lineages
  • Climate and environmental change during the Pliocene and Pleistocene
Together with fossils of horses, mammoths, and ground sloths, camelids help paint a picture of a rich and diverse ecosystem that once occupied the region.

Explore a Fossil in 3D
Rotate, zoom, and examine this specimen from the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park collections.
Interactive 3D Model: Hemiauchenia mandible
Specimen Information
  • Catalog Number: ABDSP2340 V6616
  • Element: Mandible
  • Formation: Deguynos Jackson Fork member
  • Group: Imperial
  • Epoch: Miocene
  • Scanned using Agisoft Metashape
  • Specimen © California State Parks. 3D model produced by the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Paleontology Society.
Why Anza-Borrego Matters
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park preserves one of the most important late Cenozoic fossil records in North America. Its camel and llama fossils, combined with the park's extraordinary footprint localities, provide a rare opportunity to study both the anatomy and behavior of extinct animals.
The park's fossil record demonstrates that camelids were once among the most successful large mammals in North America and played a major role in the ecosystems that preceded the modern Colorado Desert.

The Fossil Record:
  • Giant Camel (Gigantocamelus spatula)
  • Blanco llama (Hemiauchenia blancoensis)
  • Vera llama (Hemiauchenia vera)
  • Ancient llama (Paleolama)

Quick Facts
  • Family: Camelidae
  • Includes: Extinct camels and llama-like species
  • Age: Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene
  • Common fossils: Teeth, jaws, limb bones, and footprints
  • Significance: Documents camel evolution and migration from North America
  • Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
Learn More
Read Chapter 17, "Extinct Camels and Llamas of Anza-Borrego," in Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert to learn more about the evolution of camelids and the remarkable fossil and footprint discoveries preserved within the park.