Camel

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For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation).

Camel
Temporal range: Pliocene–Recent

PreЄ

Pg

N
↓

[1]
 Dromedary

(Camelus dromedarius)

Bactrian camel

(Camelus bactrianus)

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla
 Family: Camelidae

Tribe: Camelini

Genus: Camelus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

Camelus bactrianus
Camelus dromedarius
Camelus ferus
†Camelus gigas (fossil)[2]
†Camelus moreli (fossil)
†Camelus sivalensis (fossil)[3]

Synonyms

List[show]

A camel is an even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus that bears distinctive fatty deposits known
as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide food
(milk and meat) and textiles (fiber and felt from hair). As working animals, camels—which are
uniquely suited to their desert habitats—are a vital means of transport for passengers and cargo.
There are three surviving species of camel. The one-humped dromedary makes up 94% of the
world's camel population, and the two-humped Bactrian camel makes up the remainder. The Wild
Bactrian camel is a separate species and is now critically endangered.
The word camel is derived via Latin: camelusand Greek: κάμηλος (kamēlos) from Hebrew or
Phoenician: gāmāl.[4][5] Used informally, "camel" (or, more correctly, "camelid") refers to any of the
seven members of the family Camelidae: the dromedary, the Bactrian, and the wild Bactrian (the
true camels), plus the llama, the alpaca, the guanaco, and the vicuña[6] (the "New World" camelids).
The dromedary (C. dromedarius), also known as the Arabian camel, inhabits the Middle East and
the Horn of Africa, while the Bactrian (C. bactrianus) inhabits Central Asia, including the historical
region of Bactria. The critically endangered wild Bactrian (C. ferus) is found only in remote areas
of northwest China and Mongolia. An extinct species of camel[7] in the separate genus Camelops,
known as C. hesternus,[8] lived in western North Americabefore humans entered the continent at the
end of the Pleistocene.

Contents
[hide]

 1Biology
o 1.1Ecological and behavioral adaptations
o 1.2Genetics
 o 1.3Evolution
 2Domestication
o 2.1Textiles
o 2.2Military uses
 2.2.119th and 20th centuries
o 2.3Food uses
 2.3.1Dairy
 2.3.2Meat
o 2.4Religion
 2.4.1Islam
 2.4.2Judaism
o 2.5Depictions in culture
 3Distribution and numbers
 4See also
 5Notes
 6References
 7Further reading
 8External links

Biology[edit]
The average life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years.[9][10][not in citation given] A full-grown adult camel
stands 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) at the shoulder and 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) at the hump.[11] Camels can run at up to
65 km/h (40 mph) in short bursts and sustain speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph).[12] Bactrian camels
weigh 300 to 1,000 kg (660 to 2,200 lb) and dromedaries 300 to 600 kg (660 to 1,320 lb). The
widening toes on a camel's hoof provide supplemental grip for varying soil sediments.[13]
The male dromedary camel has an organ called a dulla in its throat, a large, inflatable sac he
extrudes from his mouth when in rut to assert dominance and attract females. It resembles a long,
swollen, pink tongue hanging out of the side of its mouth.[14] Camels mate by having both male and
female sitting on the ground, with the male mounting from behind.[15] The male
usually ejaculates three or four times within a single mating session.[16] Camelids are the only
ungulates to mate in a sitting position.[17]
Ecological and behavioral adaptations[edit]
Camels do not directly store water in their humps as was once commonly believed. The humps are
reservoirs of fatty tissue: concentrating body fat in their humps minimizes the insulating effect fat
would have if distributed over the rest of their bodies, helping camels survive in hot
climates.[18][19] When this tissue is metabolized, it yields more than one gram of water for every gram
of fat processed. This fat metabolization, while releasing energy, causes water to evaporate from the
lungs during respiration (as oxygen is required for the metabolic process): overall, there is a net
decrease in water.[20][21]