The fossil record of camelids demonstrates a late divergence between Bactrian camel and dromedary

Abstract

A new compilation of the Old World fossil record of Camelidae and a recent phylogenetic analysis allow a new assessment of the timing of the clade’s diversification. Using a recent implementation of the fossilized birth-death process, we show that the divergence between Bactrian camel and dromedary has a peak probability density around 1 Ma and probably occurred less than 2 million years ago. These dates are much younger than molecular estimates, which place the divergence between the dromedary and the Bactrian camel between 4 and 8 million years ago. Calibration problems in molecular dating seem to explain much of this difference.

Keywords

• mammalia
• camelidae
• phylogeny
• divergence time
• fossil record
• birth-and-death models
• pleistocene
• africa