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 and textiles. Camels are working animals especially suited to their desert habitat and 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 6%. The wild Bactrian camel is a separate species and is now critically endangered.
Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos. Camelids are even-toed ungulates classified in the order Artiodactyla, along with species including whales, pigs, deer, cattle, and antelopes.
The dromedary, also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus Camelus, with one hump on its back.
The Bactrian camel, also known as the Mongolian camel, domestic Bactrian camel or two-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dromedary. Its population of 2 million exists mainly in the domesticated form. Their name comes from the ancient historical region of Bactria.
Camelops is an extinct genus of camels that lived in North and Central America, ranging from Alaska to Honduras, from the middle Pliocene to the end of the Pleistocene. It is more closely related to the Old World dromedary and bactrian and wild bactrian camels than to the New World guanaco, vicuña, alpaca and llama; making it a true camel of the Camelini tribe. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek κάμηλος and ὄψ, i.e. "camel-face".
Numidotheriidae is an extinct family of primitive proboscideans that lived from the late Paleocene to the early Oligocene periods of North Africa.
Camel milk is milk from female camels. It has supported nomad and pastoral cultures since the domestication of camels millennia ago. Herders may for periods survive solely on the milk when taking the camels on long distances to graze in desert and arid environments, especially in parts of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa. The camel dairy farming industry has grown in Australia and the United States, as an environmentally friendly alternative to cow dairy farming using a species well-adapted to arid regions.
Urotrichus is a genus of talpid that contains a single living species, the Japanese shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides). Two fossil species are also known.
Dyrosaurus is a genus of extinct crocodylomorph that lived during the early Eocene. The name Dyrosaurus comes from sauros (σαῦρος) the Greek for lizard or reptile, and Dyr for Djebel Dyr (mountain) close to where the type species was discovered. It was a large reptile with an estimated body length of 6.5 metres (21 ft).
Paracamelus is an extinct genus of camel in the family Camelidae. It originated in North America and crossed the Beringian land bridge into Eurasia during the Late Miocene, approximately 7.5–6.5 million years ago (Ma). It is the presumed ancestor to living camels of the genus Camelus.
A hybrid camel is a hybrid between a Bactrian camel and dromedary.
The wild Bactrian camel is a critically endangered species of camel living in parts of northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia. It is closely related to the domestic Bactrian camel. Both are large, double-humped even-toed ungulates native to the steppes of central Asia. Until recently, wild Bactrian camels were thought to have descended from domesticated Bactrian camels that became feral after being released into the wild. However, genetic studies have established it as a separate species which diverged from the Bactrian camel about 1.1 million years ago.
Jerzy Dzik is a Polish paleontologist.
Tapirus mesopotamicus is an extinct species of tapir that lived in South America during the Pleistocene. It is considered a possible ancestor of all extant South American tapirs.
Megaceroides algericus is an extinct species of deer known from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene of North Africa. It is one of only two species of deer known to have been native to the African continent, alongside the Barbary stag, a subspecies of red deer. It is considered to be closely related to the giant deer species of Eurasia.
Camelus knoblochi is an extinct species of camel from the Pleistocene. Remains are known from several localities in the south of Eastern Europe, in the east and west of northern Kazakhstan, as well as in Tajikistan, and the Altai Mountains, and in the south of western Siberia, southern and western Transbaikalia, and northern and northeastern China.
Enhydrictis is a genus of extinct mustelid, belonging to the subfamily Galictinae. The type species, and best known, is Enhydrictis galictoides from the Pleistocene of Sardinia and Corsica. Some authors attribute species from mainland Eurasia to the genus, but this is disputed, with others considering the genus endemic to Sardinia-Corsica.
Gazella atlantica, the Atlantic gazelle, is an extinct species of gazelle that lived in Northwest Africa during the Late Pleistocene.
