Camelus from the upper pleistocene of Mount Carmel,Israel

A Camelus metapodial, found among the animal bones excavated by Garrod from the Levalloiso-Mousterian of the Tabun Cave (Mount Carmel, Israel), adds to the relatively small number of Camelus finds reported from the Pleistocene of the Near East. The mammal faunas associated with these finds suggest relatively dry open conditions, but not desert conditions. The Tabun specimen is of moderate size, in contrast to the very large Camelus from Far'ah II; two species of camel may thus have been present in the Near East during the Upper Pleistocene.