Vertebrate Zoology

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alpaca

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

alpaca , partially domesticated South American mammal, Lama pacos, of the camel family. Genetic studies show that it is a descendant of the vicuña . Although the flesh is sometimes used for food, the animal is bred chiefly for its long, lustrous wool, which varies from black, through shades of brown, to white. Flocks of alpaca are kept by indigenous people in the highlands of Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. They feed on grasses growing close to the snow line, and they require a pure water supply.

The Incas had domesticated the alpaca and utilized its wool before the Spanish Conquest, but subsequently the alpaca and the llama were extensively hybridized, leading to a gradual reduction in the amount of high quality alpaca wool. Exporting of alpaca wool to Europe began after Sir Titus Salt discovered (1836) a way of manufacturing alpaca cloth. Breeding alpacas is a small but growing industry in the United States, Canada, and some other non-Andean nations.

Alpacas are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Camelidae.

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alpaca

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

al·pac·a / alˈpakə/ • n. (pl. same or alpacas ) a long-haired domesticated South American mammal (Lama pacos) of the camel family, related to the llama and valued for its wool. ∎ the wool of the alpaca. ∎ fabric made from this wool.

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alpaca

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

alpaca Peruvian Ilama, its wool, fabric made from this. XVIII. — Sp. alpaca (also paco) — Quechua alpako (also pako), f. pako reddish-brown.

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T. F. HOAD. "alpaca." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "alpaca." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-alpaca.html

T. F. HOAD. "alpaca." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-alpaca.html

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alpaca

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

alpaca See llama

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alpaca

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

alpaca •alpaca, attacker, backer, clacker, claqueur, cracker, Dhaka, hacker, Hakka, knacker, lacquer, maraca, paca, packer, sifaka, slacker, smacker, stacker, tacker, tracker, whacker, yakka •Kafka •anchor, banker, Bianca, canker, Casablanca, Costa Blanca, flanker, franker, hanker, lingua franca, Lubyanka, rancour (US rancor), ranker, Salamanca, spanker, Sri Lanka, tanka, tanker, up-anchor, wanker •Alaska, lascar, Madagascar, Nebraska •Kamchatka • linebacker • outbacker •hijacker, skyjacker •Schumacher • backpacker •safecracker • wisecracker •nutcracker • firecracker • ransacker •scrimshanker • bushwhacker •barker, haka, Kabaka, Lusaka, marker, moussaka, nosy parker, Oaxaca, Osaka, parka, Shaka, Zarqa •asker, masker •backmarker • waymarker •Becker, checker, Cheka, chequer, Dekker, exchequer, Flecker, mecca, Neckar, Necker, pecker, Quebecker, Rebecca, Rijeka, trekker, weka, wrecker •sepulchre (US sepulcher) • Cuenca •burlesquer, Francesca, Wesker •woodpecker

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	ALPACAS DE SANTA FE A RESOURCE FOR RANCHERS.(Business) Newspaper article from: The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, NM); 1/13/2004
	Alpacas make a fashion statement.(Alpaca Expressions of Canada)(Company Profile) Magazine article from: SaskBusiness; 9/1/2004
	ALPACA RANCHERS SPUR LIVESTOCK TREND N.C. FARMING DON'T WORRY - THE LLAMA -... Newspaper article from: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA); 3/28/2004