{ "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-07T11:14:26Z", "providers": [ "Codex", "Grok" ], "missingProviders": [], "pass": 2, "cost": { "grok": { "usd": 0.04120384, "turns": 4, "seconds": 190.9, "error": null }, "codex": { "seconds": 74.2, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.3\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a07b90-b543-7492-9772-4d3374550719\n--------\nuser\nYou are drafting a Vercy meta-model for one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: alpaca\nRegistry id: vr.tr.alpaca\nPlane / domain: PHY / PHY.OBJ\nRegistry definition: (none recorded)\nNames folded into this entry: (none)\n\nA Vercy mod" } }, "enrichment": { "pass": 3, "engine": "claude", "producedAt": "2026-10-06T12:00:00Z", "ingestedAt": "2026-10-06T08:00:45+00:00", "fields": [ "agent_conduct", "ethics", "failure_modes_and_hazards", "owners", "visual_identification" ] }, "gate": { "passed": true, "version": "1.0", "at": "2026-10-07T10:10:32+00:00", "evidence": [ "completeness 1.00", "sense: Wikidata description", "7 live sources", "review by codex: pass" ] } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q81564", "registryId": "vr.tr.alpaca", "name": "alpaca", "version": "0.1.0-research.1", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.OBJ" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q81564/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.alpaca", "name": "alpaca", "purpose": "Enable an AI agent to recognise an individual alpaca, assess its welfare and husbandry needs, and determine which handling, care, breeding or fibre-management actions are appropriate.", "definition": "A domesticated New World camelid (Vicugna pacos; still treated by some checklists as Lama pacos), derived mainly from the wild vicuña with later llama introgression, kept as a high-Andean fibre, meat and dung animal and, outside the Andes, as a fleece, companion and occasional guardian livestock species distinct from the larger packing llama.", "scope_statement": "This model owns the identity, observable condition, life stage, social dependencies, fleece condition and care constraints of a living alpaca, interpreting the registry name as the animal rather than a product or service.", "in_scope": [ "Individual identification and evidence that the animal is an alpaca", "Life stage, reproductive state and dependent offspring", "Body condition, behaviour and signs requiring assessment", "Herd relationships and suitability of the immediate care environment", "Fleece condition, shearing readiness and individual husbandry history" ], "out_of_scope": [ "Llamas, vicuñas and other camelids as separately modelled animals", "Herd-level breeding programmes and population genetics", "Farm infrastructure, pasture management and business operations", "Harvested fibre, yarn and textile products", "Veterinary diseases, medicines and clinical procedures as independent models", "Alpaca-branded software, financial services and organisations" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Establish camelid identity from the combination of padded two-toed feet, long neck and split upper lip; fleece alone does not distinguish an alpaca from a sheep.", "Compare ear shape, head profile and adult build with a llama: relatively short, spear-shaped ears and a smaller build support alpaca identification, but are not sufficient individually.", "Check recorded domestication and breeding provenance when distinguishing an alpaca from a vicuña; colour and fine fleece alone are insufficient.", "Use documented parentage or appropriate genetic assessment to resolve suspected alpaca-llama ancestry when appearance cannot establish the boundary.", "Recognise both crimped Huacaya fleece and hanging Suri locks as compatible with alpaca identity; coat presentation alone must not exclude either type." ], "characteristics": [ { "name": "Identity and ancestry confidence", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "documented alpaca; appearance-supported alpaca; suspected hybrid ancestry; unresolved", "why_it_matters": "Prevents an uncertain identification from silently becoming a confirmed species or ancestry claim." }, { "name": "Fleece type", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Huacaya; Suri; unresolved", "why_it_matters": "Changes how fleece structure and condition should be interpreted." }, { "name": "Age evidence and life stage", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "birth date or estimated age in months, with evidence; dependent cria; weaned juvenile; adult", "why_it_matters": "Supports interpretation of growth, feeding, handling and dependence." }, { "name": "Body mass", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "kg, with date and weighing method", "why_it_matters": "Allows growth and weight-change assessment without relying on a fleece-covered silhouette." }, { "name": "Body condition", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "score on a named alpaca-appropriate scale, with examination method and date", "why_it_matters": "Separates nutritional condition from apparent bulk created by fleece." }, { "name": "Reproductive status", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "recorded sex and intact or castrated status; pregnancy unknown, suspected or confirmed; lactating or not recorded", "why_it_matters": "Determines relevant housing, monitoring and breeding constraints." }, { "name": "Social and maternal relationships", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "herd membership; compatible companions; dam; dependent cria; observed conflict", "why_it_matters": "Makes separation, movement and care decisions account for social and offspring dependence." }, { "name": "Fleece burden and condition", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "last shearing date; coverage; matting; contamination; skin visibility; observed thermal discomfort", "why_it_matters": "Supports individual shearing and weather-protection decisions." }, { "name": "Handling response", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "observed response to approach, haltering, leading, examination and restraint, with context", "why_it_matters": "Guides the least stressful feasible handling method without treating one reaction as a permanent temperament." } ], "affordances": [ "Identify the alpaca and reconcile its physical identifier with ownership, ancestry and care records.", "Observe and compare feeding, movement, herd participation, weight and body condition over time.", "Assess whether companion arrangements and access to forage, water and shelter meet this individual's needs.", "Plan handling, movement and shearing using its condition, previous responses and current environmental exposure.", "Flag changes that require veterinary assessment while retaining observations separately from diagnoses.", "Track mating, pregnancy evidence, birth and dam-cria dependence to support authorised reproductive care." ], "agent_conduct": { "may": [ "Monitor an alpaca's feeding, weight and health for its keeper.", "Read ear tags or microchips and report them to the registered keeper.", "Report signs of heat stress, injury or illness to a veterinarian." ], "must_not": [ "Keep an alpaca alone, since it is a herd animal that suffers in isolation.", "Shear, handle or transport an alpaca in ways that cause injury or avoidable distress.", "Give medicines a veterinarian has not prescribed.", "Breed alpacas outside the keeper's plan or registry rules." ], "requires_human": [ "Euthanasia, castration or other surgery.", "Selling or moving an alpaca to a new keeper." ] }, "ethics": { "considerations": [ "Alpacas are social animals whose welfare depends on company and space.", "Andean herding communities depend on alpacas and their fibre." ], "affected_parties": [ "The alpacas", "Keepers and herders", "Andean communities" ] }, "owners": { "steward": "The registered keeper; national livestock or breed registries record animals where they exist.", "master_systems": [ "Livestock movement registers", "Alpaca breed registries" ] }, "visual_identification": [ "A small camelid with a long neck, dense fleece and short spear-shaped ears.", "Smaller than a llama, with a blunt face and fibre covering the head." ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Heat stress in warm climates when fleece is unshorn.", "Spitting and kicking when handled roughly." ], "what_it_is_for": [ "Alpacas are kept in Andean pastoral systems and on farms elsewhere primarily for their fleece.", "They are also encountered as companion livestock and in agricultural education, where their social behaviour and husbandry needs guide management." ], "standards_and_regulation": [ "The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, issued by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, governs the scientific names used for the alpaca without deciding between competing taxonomic placements." ] }, "sources": [ { "id": "wikipedia-alpaca", "title": "Alpaca", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca", "what_it_supports": "Species identity, Huacaya/Suri split, size, gestation and lifespan, fibre uses, llama contrast, Kadwell reclassification summary, colour-chart differences, and livestock hazards.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "wikipedia-huacaya", "title": "Huacaya alpaca", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huacaya_alpaca", "what_it_supports": "Huacaya dominance, withers height, fibre diameter and crimp, diet, parasites, poisons and disease list.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "uniprot-vicpa", "title": "Vicugna pacos (Alpaca) | Taxonomy", "url": "https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/30538", "what_it_supports": "NCBI/UniProt taxon 30538, accepted name Vicugna pacos, and synonyms Lama pacos and Camelus pacos Linnaeus, 1758.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "fao-camelids-vol3", "title": "Heroes of deserts and highlands, nourishing people and culture. Volume 3: Production, products and services", "url": "https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/5f8e655f-24ac-49b1-b4ec-906be730b717/content", "what_it_supports": "Andean husbandry altitude, Peru's majority share of the world flock, meat and fibre uses, and Huacaya versus Suri fibre.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "kadwell-2001", "title": "Genetic analysis reveals the wild ancestors of the llama and the alpaca", "url": "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2001.1774", "what_it_supports": "Vicuña ancestry of the alpaca and the case for Vicugna pacos rather than Lama pacos (read via the Wikipedia summary of this paper, not the full PDF).", "url_status": "blocked" }, { "id": "textile-exchange-ras-2021", "title": "Responsible Alpaca Standard 1.0 (RAF-101c-V1.0)", "url": "https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2021/06/RAF-101c-V1.0-Responsible-Alpaca-Standard.pdf", "what_it_supports": "Voluntary farm-to-product animal-welfare and chain-of-custody standard for alpaca fibre.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "wikidata", "title": "Wikidata item Q81564: alpaca", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81564", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api" }, { "id": "wikipedia-en", "title": "Wikipedia: Vicugna pacos", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicugna_pacos", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "general description of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "alpaca-identity", "name": "Alpaca identity", "description": "Establishes what animal this is and how confidently it belongs to the registered kind.", "rationale": "Alpacas can be confused with neighbouring camelids, and appearance does not reliably settle ancestry or individual identity.", "layers": [ { "id": "camelid-boundary", "name": "Camelid boundary", "description": "Tests alpaca identification against similar animals and uncertain ancestry.", "findings": [ { "id": "species-and-ancestry-evidence", "name": "Species and ancestry evidence", "description": "Records the observations and documents supporting alpaca identification without treating visual traits as definitive.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which observed traits and provenance records support identifying this animal as an alpaca?", "kind": "definition", "id": "species-and-ancestry-evidence-q01" }, { "text": "What evidence would be needed to resolve possible llama, vicuña or hybrid ancestry?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "species-and-ancestry-evidence-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "individual-and-fleece-type", "name": "Individual and fleece type", "description": "Connects an identifiable animal to its records and characteristic fleece presentation.", "findings": [ { "id": "record-to-animal-match", "name": "Record-to-animal match", "description": "Maintains evidence linking identifiers, physical markings and recorded Huacaya or Suri type to this individual.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which microchip, tag or documented markings link this alpaca to its records, and when was the match checked?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "record-to-animal-match-q01" }, { "text": "Is its Huacaya or Suri classification documented, observed from fleece structure or unresolved?", "kind": "definition", "id": "record-to-animal-match-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "body-condition-and-health", "name": "Body condition and health", "description": "Represents nutritional condition and meaningful changes in bodily function.", "rationale": "Dense fleece can obscure condition, so assessment must combine direct examination, measurements and behaviour.", "layers": [ { "id": "growth-and-nutrition", "name": "Growth and nutrition", "description": "Interprets weight and body condition against age, reproductive demands and feeding access.", "findings": [ { "id": "condition-beneath-fleece", "name": "Condition beneath the fleece", "description": "Records weight trends and palpated condition separately from visual impressions of body size.", "questions": [ { "text": "What are the current weight and body-condition score, and which method or scale produced each?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "condition-beneath-fleece-q01" }, { "text": "How have these changed alongside growth, lactation, forage availability or competition at feeding?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "condition-beneath-fleece-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "functional-health-signals", "name": "Functional health signals", "description": "Tracks departures from this alpaca's usual feeding, elimination, breathing and movement.", "findings": [ { "id": "clinical-observations-and-escalation", "name": "Clinical observations and escalation", "description": "Keeps symptoms, test results and professional interpretations distinct while supporting timely assessment.", "questions": [ { "text": "What changes are observed in appetite, cud chewing, droppings, urination, breathing, gait or ability to rise?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "clinical-observations-and-escalation-q01" }, { "text": "Which observations require veterinary contact under the animal's current care plan, and what action has been taken?", "kind": "action", "id": "clinical-observations-and-escalation-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "herd-life-and-handling", "name": "Herd life and handling", "description": "Connects social behaviour, resource access and responses to human contact.", "rationale": "An alpaca's condition and safe handling cannot be judged independently of companions, separation and prior experience.", "layers": [ { "id": "social-placement", "name": "Social placement", "description": "Represents companion relationships and the individual's actual experience within a group.", "findings": [ { "id": "companionship-and-exclusion", "name": "Companionship and exclusion", "description": "Records affiliation, conflict, isolation and whether other animals obstruct essential resources.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which alpacas does this individual associate with, and what happens when they are separated?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "companionship-and-exclusion-q01" }, { "text": "Does herd behaviour prevent this alpaca from reaching forage, water, shade or shelter, and what adjustment is indicated?", "kind": "action", "id": "companionship-and-exclusion-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "human-contact", "name": "Human contact", "description": "Records context-specific handling responses and constraints for necessary care.", "findings": [ { "id": "handling-tolerance", "name": "Handling tolerance", "description": "Distinguishes observed reactions to approach, haltering and restraint from assumptions about temperament.", "questions": [ { "text": "How does this alpaca respond to approach, haltering, leading and examination, including avoidance, spitting or kicking?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "handling-tolerance-q01" }, { "text": "Which handler skills, companion arrangements and restraint limits are required for the proposed procedure?", "kind": "action", "id": "handling-tolerance-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "fleece-and-physical-care", "name": "Fleece and physical care", "description": "Represents fleece management, weather exposure and routine physical maintenance.", "rationale": "Fleece removal changes an alpaca's exposure, while coat appearance alone does not establish skin, foot or dental condition.", "layers": [ { "id": "fleece-and-weather", "name": "Fleece and weather", "description": "Connects fleece type and condition to shearing decisions and protection afterwards.", "findings": [ { "id": "individual-shearing-readiness", "name": "Individual shearing readiness", "description": "Assesses shearing as an animal-care action with condition, handling and environmental prerequisites.", "questions": [ { "text": "When was this alpaca last shorn, and what fleece coverage, matting, contamination or skin concerns are present?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "individual-shearing-readiness-q01" }, { "text": "Given its health, handling needs and expected weather exposure, what arrangements are needed before and after shearing?", "kind": "action", "id": "individual-shearing-readiness-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "feet-mouth-and-skin", "name": "Feet, mouth and skin", "description": "Tracks structures requiring direct inspection rather than inference from fleece or general activity.", "findings": [ { "id": "maintenance-needs", "name": "Maintenance needs", "description": "Connects nail, foot-pad, dental and skin observations to appropriately qualified care.", "questions": [ { "text": "What nail growth, foot-pad damage, chewing difficulty, visible dental abnormality or skin lesion has been observed?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "maintenance-needs-q01" }, { "text": "Which findings justify routine maintenance, further examination or veterinary treatment, and who is qualified to perform it?", "kind": "action", "id": "maintenance-needs-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "reproduction-and-cria-dependence", "name": "Reproduction and cria dependence", "description": "Represents reproductive evidence and care relationships across pregnancy, birth and early development.", "rationale": "Breeding eligibility, pregnancy and dependence cannot be inferred safely from age, co-housing or appearance alone.", "layers": [ { "id": "reproductive-evidence", "name": "Reproductive evidence", "description": "Separates reproductive capability, mating history and confirmed pregnancy.", "findings": [ { "id": "breeding-and-pregnancy-status", "name": "Breeding and pregnancy status", "description": "Records reproductive status and its evidence without equating exposure to a male with pregnancy.", "questions": [ { "text": "What records establish sex, intact or castrated status, mating exposure and any pregnancy assessment?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "breeding-and-pregnancy-status-q01" }, { "text": "What individual health assessment and breeding authorisation must be satisfied before mating or changing reproductive-group housing?", "kind": "action", "id": "breeding-and-pregnancy-status-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "dam-cria-care", "name": "Dam-cria care", "description": "Connects birth observations, nursing, growth and separation decisions.", "findings": [ { "id": "offspring-dependence", "name": "Offspring dependence", "description": "Represents the cria as a separate individual whose care remains linked to its dam or substitute caregiver.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which dam-cria relationship is documented, and what birth, early feeding, nursing and weight observations are available?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "offspring-dependence-q01" }, { "text": "What evidence of health, growth and independent feeding is required before weaning or separating this cria under its care plan?", "kind": "action", "id": "offspring-dependence-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "evidence-and-external-alignment", "name": "Evidence and external alignment", "description": "What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.", "rationale": "A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.", "layers": [ { "id": "reported-evidence", "name": "Reported evidence", "description": "Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.", "findings": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds", "name": "Kinds and varieties", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Huacaya (crimped, bundled fleece growing out from the body; about 80-90% of the world flock)", "Suri (straight, independently hanging lustrous locks; about 10%)", "White commercial/export lines selected for dyeable fleece", "Naturally coloured types (Peruvian trade charts split many more shades than Australian or US charts)", "Andean highland landrace herds (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina)", "Extra-Andean show and stud lines (North America, Australia, Europe)", "Pacovicuña (alpaca × vicuña crosses kept for ultrafine fibre)" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds-q01", "text": "Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-identifiers", "name": "Identifiers and schemes", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "scheme": "Wikidata", "value_or_pattern": "Q81198", "note": "Item for the domestic alpaca." }, { "scheme": "NCBI Taxonomy / UniProt", "value_or_pattern": "30538", "note": "Mnemonic VICPA; scientific name Vicugna pacos." }, { "scheme": "Linnaean original combination", "value_or_pattern": "Camelus pacos Linnaeus, 1758", "note": "Basionym; later Lama pacos, then Vicugna pacos after Kadwell et al. 2001." }, { "scheme": "Synonym still used in some checklists", "value_or_pattern": "Lama pacos", "note": "English Wikipedia taxobox still used this name at the time of reading; NCBI and UniProt do not." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-identifiers-q01", "text": "Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation", "name": "Standards and regulation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Responsible Alpaca Standard 1.0 (Textile Exchange) - voluntary welfare, land and chain-of-custody rules for fibre", "IWTO-47 - International Wool Textile Organisation method for mean fibre diameter and distribution (OFDA), used on alpaca as on wool", "Peruvian NTP fibre classing - national technical norms that sort fleece into Baby, Fleece, Huarizo and coarse lots (INACAL / sector authorities)", "Alpaca Owners Association (US) numbered fibre grades 0-6, adopted 2021", "Australian commercial micron-band classing (AAFL/AAA practice), not a numbered grade table", "FAO DAD-IS - country reports of Huacaya and Suri as breed populations", "WOAH/OIE and national veterinary rules for camelid movement, especially Mycobacterium bovis (bovine TB) testing on export", "CITES does not list the domestic alpaca; vicuña fibre is the regulated neighbour" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01", "text": "Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-real-world-use", "name": "Real-world use", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Annual shearing for apparel and interiors: knits, suiting, scarves, blankets, ponchos", "Andean household meat (including dried charqui) and dung used as fuel and fertiliser", "Small extra-Andean farms selling breeding stock, fleece and agritourism visits", "Guardian animals on some sheep and goat properties, exploiting anti-canid behaviour", "Certified therapy animals in hospitals and nursing homes", "Communal dung piles collected as a low-weed manure" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-real-world-use-q01", "text": "Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-measurements", "name": "Typical measurements", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "quantity": "Height at withers (adult)", "typical_range": "81-99", "unit": "cm" }, { "quantity": "Live weight (adult)", "typical_range": "48-90", "unit": "kg" }, { "quantity": "Annual greasy fleece", "typical_range": "2.3-4.5", "unit": "kg" }, { "quantity": "Mean fibre diameter (commercial adult lots)", "typical_range": "18-30 (royal/baby often <20; prickle risk rises above ~30)", "unit": "µm" }, { "quantity": "Gestation", "typical_range": "~11.5 (about 335-360 days); almost always a single cria", "unit": "months" }, { "quantity": "Lifespan", "typical_range": "15-20 (record ~28)", "unit": "years" }, { "quantity": "Traditional husbandry altitude", "typical_range": "3500-5000", "unit": "m above sea level" }, { "quantity": "Daily dry-matter intake", "typical_range": "1.5-1.8", "unit": "% of body mass" } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-measurements-q01", "text": "Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards", "name": "Failure modes and hazards", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Llama introgression coarsens fibre and blurs species identity (huarizo animals in commercial lots)", "Heat stress in unshorn animals at low altitude or in humid climates", "Vitamin D-dependent rickets in crias at high latitudes with little UV", "Meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) where white-tailed deer and terrestrial molluscs occur", "Mycobacterium bovis infection, with trade bans after false-negative skin tests", "C3 gastric ulcers under stress; rumen-like acidosis after excess grain", "Fighting-tooth injuries among intact males; spit, kick or crush injuries to handlers", "Gastrointestinal parasites, mange and plant poisoning (rhododendron, bracken, many ornamentals)", "Neonatal failure of passive transfer; rare twins", "North American breeding-stock price collapse after the 1984-2007 speculative bubble, leaving unsaleable animals" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01", "text": "Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-regional-variation", "name": "Regional variation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Peru holds on the order of four-fifths of the world flock; Bolivia, Chile and Argentina hold most of the rest of the Andean stock", "Quechua/Aymara names (paqocha, allpaqa) versus English alpaca, which is also used for fabric that may not be alpaca fibre", "Peru classes many more natural colours (Wikipedia reports 52 trade colours) than Australia (12) or the United States (16)", "Fibre sold as Baby/Fleece/Huarizo in Peru, as AOA grades 0-6 in the US, and as micron bands (Royal, Baby, Superfine) in Australia", "Andean use is fibre plus meat and dung; extra-Andean use is show, hobby, therapy and small-scale fibre", "Nomenclature split: Vicugna pacos in NCBI/UniProt/FAO versus Lama pacos still on some public checklists" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-regional-variation-q01", "text": "Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-neighbours", "name": "Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "name": "Llama (Lama glama)", "difference": "Larger packing animal with banana-shaped ears and usually coarser fibre; alpaca is smaller, finer-fleeced, with shorter spear- or banana-straight ears and a fibre-first conformation." }, { "name": "Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna)", "difference": "Wild ancestor; unsheared annually, fibre typically ~12-15 µm, CITES-listed; alpaca is domestic, sheared, and not CITES-listed." }, { "name": "Guanaco (Lama guanicoe)", "difference": "Wild ancestor of the llama, not of the alpaca; larger and coarser-fleeced than alpaca." }, { "name": "Huarizo (llama × alpaca)", "difference": "Fertile hybrid; intermediate size and fibre diameter, often classed into coarser commercial lots." }, { "name": "Sheep wool / merino", "difference": "Alpaca fibre is lanolin-poor, from a three-chambered camelid, and is identified by animal origin and cuticle/medullation, not by a keratin isoform code." }, { "name": "Mohair (Angora goat)", "difference": "Suri is the analogue in drape and lustre; mohair is caprine, alpaca is camelid, and trade names are not interchangeable." }, { "name": "Fabric labelled alpaca", "difference": "Historic trade used 'alpaca' for a fabric style that could be mohair or sheep wool; fibre origin, not the cloth name, identifies the animal." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-neighbours-q01", "text": "Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Does the registry intend alpaca to cover living domestic alpacas only, and how should confirmed camelid hybrids be linked?", "Which authoritative identification references and ancestry standards should govern uncertain alpaca-llama or alpaca-vicuña boundaries?", "Which alpaca-specific body-condition scale, growth references and clinical escalation criteria should be adopted for each life stage?", "How should climate, fleece type and individual health determine shearing timing and protection requirements?", "Which veterinary and welfare sources should establish reproductive readiness, neonatal monitoring, weaning and procedure-qualification requirements in the applicable jurisdiction?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 11, "findings": 18, "questions": 28 } }