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Camelids
are large animals with slender necks and long legs, and are strictly herbivorous.
They differ from ruminants in several ways. They have a three-chambered
rather than a four-chambered digestive tract; an upper lip that is split
in two with each part separately mobile; an isolated incisor in the upper
jaw; and uniquely among mammals, elliptical red blood cells. They also
have a unique type of antibodies lacking the light chain, in addition
to the normal antibodies found in other species. These antibodies are
being used to develop 'nanobodies'.
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