Article
Genetic analysis reveals the wild ancestors of the llama and the alpaca.
Proceedings. Biological sciences - 22 Dec 2001
Kadwell M, Fernandez M, Stanley H F, Baldi R, Wheeler J C, Rosadio R, Bruford M W
Abstract excerpt
The origins of South America's domestic alpaca and llama remain controversial due to hybridization, near extirpation during the Spanish conquest and difficulties in archaeological interpretation. Traditionally, the ancestry of both forms is attributed to the guanaco, while the vicuña is assumed never to have been domesticated. Recent research has, however, linked the alpaca to the vicuña, dating domestication to...
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