Are llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicunas all related?

Never fear: read our straightforward camelid spotter's guide to llamas, guanacos, alpacas, and vicuñas. ... Before we go on, here are a few features that all four of the South American camelids share: ... The llama (Lama glama), along with the alpaca, is one of two domesticated camelids in South America. read more

Alpacas are descended from wild vicuñas, while llamas are descended from wild guanacos. An adult alpaca stands at about 3 feet (0.91 m) at the shoulder and 4.5 to 5 feet (1.37 to 1.52 m) from the toes to the tips of the ears (making them smaller than llamas and guanacos but larger than vicuñas). read more

They are all camelids and so are camels. It's interesting how the different species of camelids evolved. They all came from a single species in North America about 40 million years ago. read more

Alpacas and llamas actually have two more closely related cousins. The guanaco and the vicuna are two other species of camelidae that have not been domesticated. Both still roam the hills and mountains of South America, specifically through Peru and Chile. read more