Procamelus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Mid-Late Miocene
(Barstovian-Hemphillian)
~{{Fossil range|16.3|5.3}}

| image = Procamelus AMNH.jpg

| image_caption = P. grandis skeleton, American Museum of Natural History

| taxon = Procamelus

| authority = Leidy, 1858

| type_species = Procamelus occidentalis

| type_species_authority = Leidy 1858

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = * P. angustidens {{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

• P. coconinensis {{small|Hay 1921}}
• P. gracilis {{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
• P. grandis {{small|Gregory 1939}}
• P. leptocolon {{small|Matthew 1909}}
• P. leptognathus {{small|Cope 1893}}
• P. minor {{small|Leidy 1886}}
• P. occidentalis {{small|Leidy 1858}}
• P. robustus {{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

| synonyms = * Homocamelus {{small|Leidy 1869}}

}}

File:Procamelus mummy.JPG

Procamelus is an extinct genus of camel endemic to North America. It lived from the Middle to Late Miocene 16.3—5.3 mya, existing for approximately {{Mya|16-5|million years}}.[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=42549 Procamelus at fossilworks] The name is derived from the Greek πρό,{{LSJ|pro/|πρό|ref}} meaning "before" or denoting priority of order, and κάμελος ("camel"),{{LSJ|ka/melos|κάμελος|ref}} thus meaning "fore-camel", "early camel" or "predecessor camel".

It had long legs designed for speed, and was about {{convert|1.3|m|ft}} in height at the shoulder, slightly smaller than a modern llama. Unlike modern camelids, it had a pair of small incisor teeth in the upper jaw. The remaining teeth were large and adapted for eating tough vegetation. The shape of the toes suggests that it possessed foot pads, like modern camels, unlike earlier forms of camelid, which generally had hooves. This would have helped it walk over relatively soft ground.{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 275|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}} It had a straighter neck than Oxydactylus or Aepycamelus.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}