CAMELS: CHARACTERISTICS, FEEDING, REPRODUCTION, ANATOMY - BIOLOGY - 2025

The camels (Camelus) are a genus of placental mammals ungulates having organic structures on their back calls humps or humps, which function as fat deposits.

There are two varieties of camels, the Camelus bactrianus or Asiatic and the Camelus dromedarius, known as the African or dromedary camel. These genera are easy to differentiate, the dromedary has one hump, while the Asian camel has two.

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The life expectancy of camels is between 40 and 50 years and they inhabit very different geographical regions. The dromedary is located in the Middle East and in the Horn of Africa.

The Asian camel is found in the Central Asian region. The wild Bactrian camel lives in China and Australia, where it was introduced by man.

They are very social animals, they like to be together in herds. These are led by a dominant male, while some of the remaining males form their own herd, known as a single flock.

They are generally docile, greeting each other by blowing their faces. However, when threatened, they may bite or kick the other. If excited, these animals snort with great force, causing saliva to be incidentally expelled.

Domestication

Camels have been the fundamental basis in the economic, social and cultural development of some societies. The dromedary was domesticated in Arabia from approximately 3,000-2,000 BC, while the Bactrian camel accompanied the life of Asian man from approx. 4,000 BC

The traditional ways of life of many localities in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia could hardly have been consolidated as cultures, without the presence of camels.

An example of this are the Bedouins, nomadic groups originating from the Arabian peninsula, inhabiting the deserts of Saudi Arabia, Israel and some areas of Syria. Its economy depended almost exclusively on the dromedary.

Their clothing was made with the fur of the dromedary and they fed by consuming its milk and meat. The great resistance of these animals was exploited to the maximum, turning them into beasts of burden.

They were also used as a means of transportation, providing the opportunity for this nomadic group to move freely through the desert.

Among the Bedouin, the wealth of men was measured not only by the number of camels they owned, but also by the ability of these animals to withstand heavy loads and the speed they developed when moving.

Hybridization

Considering the molecular and chromosomal characteristics of camels, they can interbreed, giving rise to viable species. Such is the case of the hybrid camel, which is the product of the cross between a Bactrian camel and a dromedary.

This species has a single hump, although it has a notch on its back, which is between 4 and 12 centimeters deep. This hybrid specimen measures around 2.15 meters, from the ground to the hump, weighing around 650 kilograms.

Its cargo carrying capacity is 450 kilograms, higher than that of Asian dromedaries or camels.

Evolution

The oldest fossils were found in North America, from where they became extinct more than 10,000 years ago. The genera Camelus and Lama separated 11 million years ago.

Protylopus

The first ancestor of the camel is the so-called Protylopus, which lived in North America during the Eocene, around 40 or 50 million years ago. This extinct genus measured just over 80 centimeters, its weight being estimated at 26 kilograms.

Due to the characteristics of its teeth, it is presumed that it fed on young leaves. The hind legs were longer than the previous ones, counting with four toes. Most of the weight was received by the third and fourth toes, due to this it is thought that it could be raised on its hind legs.

Poebrotherium

The Poebrotherium is a genus that lived in the Oligocene, what is now known as North Dakota - North America, 35 million years ago. This animal is more similar to modern camels than the genus Protylopus.

It was about a meter tall and its skull was similar to that of a llama. The fingers have evolved, allowing the animal to move with some speed. Its jaw was long, with its teeth extended forward, just as it happens in modern camels.

Stenomylus

This genus was the smallest of the extinct ancestors of camels, measuring only 60 centimeters. The animal moved by resting on the tips of its toes.

Aepycamelus

It was an animal characterized by its long neck. It lived in North America during the Miocene, between 20.6 and 4.9 million years ago. Its head was small, compared to its body, with long legs. The height, measured from head to ground, may have been about 10 feet.

Procamelus

It is considered the direct ancestor of the current camels. It existed in North America in the Lower Pliocene, between 3 and 5 million years ago. Its body measured 1.3 meters and it had long legs that allowed it to move quickly.

Its jaw housed a pair of incisor teeth, the rest of the teeth were large and adapted to eat very hard vegetables.

Camelops hesternus

It is the last camel species to inhabit western North America, at the end of the Pleistocene. Its height was just over 2.10 meters, being slightly taller than the current Bactrian camel. The remains of grass found on its teeth suggest that it fed on plants.

The North American camelids spread to South America as part of the great American exchange, through the Isthmus of Panama. The arrival of this genus to Asia was through the Bering Strait. From this continent they moved to territories in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Wild camels became extinct around 3000 BC in the North African regions, leaving only those domesticated specimens.

Taxonomy

Animal Kingdom.

Subkingdom Bilateria.

Infra-kingdom Deuterostomy.

Chordate Phylum.

Vertebrate Subfilum.

Infrafilum Gnathostomata.

Tetrapoda superclass.

Mammal class.

Subclass Theria.

Infraclass Eutheria.

Order Artiodactyla.

Camelidae family.

Genus Lama.

Genus Vicugna.

Genus Camelus

This genus has two species :

Camelus bactrianus

Members of this species have two humps. Their fur is varied in length and in color, which is usually dark brown reaching black in some areas.

The hair can form a thick "protective layer", which will allow them to protect their body from the inclement sun and the low temperatures of the central Asian deserts. During the summer, the camel loses much of this fur

Your weight could be around 600 to 1000 kilograms. Females tend to be smaller than males, which makes them lighter. An example of this species is the Asian camel or camel, as they are usually called.

Camelus dromedarius

The dromedary or Arabian camel has a divided upper lip, being able to move it separately. Its legs are long and thin, its fingers have hooves. On their back they have a single hump that functions as a fat store.

Her eyelashes are long and thin, keeping her eyes safe from the sand. The dromedary could drink up to 150 liters of water in a short time.

General characteristics

Calluses

The dromedary has a kind of pad or callus on the chest and knees. They protect you when you lie on the desert sand, which is very hot.

It also has, on the sternum, a pad of very thick tissue. When the animal lies in a reclining position, this callus keeps the body elevated from the warm surface, allowing air to pass underneath. This way you can cool off.

Head

The size of the head is proportionate, with reference to the rest of the body. The forehead is bulging and the face has a subconvex profile. Their mouths have a thick lining that allows them to chew on plants with thorns, which they get in the deserts where they live.

Their eyelashes are long and their nostrils can become closed. These characteristics, together with the hairs on the ears, make camels have a natural barrier against sand.

If a grain of sand gets stuck in your eyes, you can use your transparent third eyelid to help it out. The upper lip is divided into two, being able to move them independently.

Fur

The fur forms a kind of "thick coat", which insulates the animal from the extreme temperatures of the desert. The tone can range from soft brown to gray, being lighter during the summer. This helps to reflect solar radiation, thus avoiding possible burns to the animal's skin.

Weight and size

Bactrian camels typically weigh around 300 to 1,000 kilograms, while dromedaries may be somewhat lighter, weighing a maximum of 600 kilograms.

Both camels and dromedaries reach approximately 3 meters in height.

Sexual dimorphism

Male camels weigh between 400 and 650 kilograms, while female camels are smaller, about 10 percent less.

Legs

Its legs are elongated, which helps keep its body off the ground. The fingers, which are widened at the hooves, provide the animal with more grip to move better on various types of ground.

The weight of the animal is supported by the two large toes, which are spread apart to prevent the camel from sinking into the sand.

The camel's pad is soft and broad, while the Bactrian camel has a firmer foot. When walking they do not do it on their helmets, reaching a speed of 65 kilometers per hour.

Feeding

Camels are herbivorous animals, very undemanding to their diet. They can eat bushes and tree leaves or graze grass. Thanks to their thick lips, they could ingest plants with thorns. They usually spend up to 8 hours eating, then dedicating another 8 hours to ruminate what they consumed.

Within its diet are the dry and woody plants that it eats using its fangs. Due to their height, they can reach tree branches that are more or less three meters above ground level, which is a great advantage over other herbivores that inhabit the same area.

During the dry season, when food is scarce, the camel gets the nutrients it needs from the fat stored in its hump. This allows it to survive for some time, losing weight as the adipose tissue is metabolized.

The two species of camels have a fairly complex stomach, with three compartments. Although they are not considered ruminant animals, they repeat and chew the food they have eaten repeatedly.

Indeed, they are much more efficient in extracting protein from plants than animals classified as ruminants.

Water intake

Camels could withstand levels of extreme dehydration. They can lose water from their body, without risking their life, up to 40% of their body weight. These amounts would be fatal to any animal of another species.

The dromedary does not store more water in its body than any other specimen, however it does not need to drink water for several days. In order to survive without it, these animals have adapted their bodies in various ways.

For example, they reduce the amount of urine they produce, making it look thicker. Their stools are dry and hard, because during their passage through the intestine, as much water as possible was extracted.

Another way to regulate body water is their ability to control the amount they lose during intake. This is approximately 1.3 liters per day, while cattle lose between 20 and 40 liters of water daily.

The fat from the hump, after various chemical procedures, turns into water. Studies claim that 9.3 grams of adipose tissue releases almost 1.13 grams of water.

Reproduction

Zeal on the camel

Heat is commonly known as musth, a state of excitement during the heat period. In the male, the sexual instincts are suppressed for a long time, entering heat only for a few months.

Heat usually occurs between the months of December to March, when grazing conditions are the best. During this period, the camel often loses hair, decreases its appetite, urinates more frequently, and produces sounds by grinding its teeth.

Additionally, the doula, a specialized diverticulum found on the soft palate, comes out of your mouth as a sign of heat.

During the heat, the female is restless, separating herself from the other animals. She spreads urine with her tail and her vulva is swollen and wet.

Mating

The female reaches sexual maturity between 3 and 4 years, while the males do so when they are 4 or 5 years old. During this period, the gland found in the male's skin secretes a black pigment, causing this area of ​​the body to darken. In this way it attracts the female.

Generally a camel can mate with approximately 20 to 50 females in one season. The duration of the estrous cycle could vary between 16 and 22 days and the duration of heat, which generally does not occur during the summer, is 3 or 4 days.

During estrus, the female may have a swollen vulva, with some slimy discharge. You could also try riding the male, lifting her tail, and smelling her urine and genitals.

For mating, the female sits on her side and holds her external genitalia exposed, thus allowing the male to copulate. While mating, both the male and female make sounds, similar to grunts, and gurgling. Copulation lasts about 20 minutes

Gestation

This period lasts approximately 390 days. In a high percentage of cases, gestation occurs in the left horn of the uterus.

Some of the signs that indicate that a female is pregnant are: she keeps her tail hidden, there is a noticeable increase in body weight, the color of the urine is dark and the vaginal lips are swollen.

Delivery

When parturition approaches, the female has an inflamed vulva, is restless, urinating frequently, and looks for a dark place, which she cleans with her front legs. Usually at the time of delivery assumes a sitting position.

The front limbs of the young appear first, followed by the head. The umbilical cord is broken when the mother licks the baby and expels the placenta. The mother remains reclined for a few minutes after delivery. The calf is independent within 6 to 8 hours after its birth.

Anatomy and morphology

Teeth

Adult camels have 34 teeth, distributed as follows: 2 incisors, 2 canines, and 12 molars on the upper jaw. In the lower jaw it has 6 incisors, 2 canines and 10 molars.

Canines appear when the animal is 6 or 7 years old. The upper incisors can measure up to 4 centimeters.

Trunk

The trunk is highly developed and the rib cage is wide. They have a strong back, with a homogeneous slope.

Doula

The male dromedary has a throat organ called a doula. It is shaped like a sac, resembling a long, swollen, pink tongue. The animal removes this organ from its mouth during heat, in order to attract females and to communicate to other males that this territory is their domain.

Hump ​​or hump

These organs are deposits of adipose tissue, which works as a thermal insulator, thus keeping the body temperature level. In this way, the internal organs are protected from the high and low temperatures of the exterior, thus guaranteeing the functionality of each of these.

The fact that camels have body fat accumulated in a single area, makes the rest of the body stay cool, during hours of high ambient temperatures.

The fat contained in the humps is used by the animal to obtain energy and water, in cases where the consumption of food and water is difficult.

The two species of camels differ in the number of humps they have. Asian camels have two, while dromedaries have one. In the case of those with two, they could be the same size or of different volumes.

Kidneys

Camel kidneys are efficient at reabsorbing water. Its medullary part occupies twice the area of ​​a cow's kidney. Renal corpuscles are small in diameter, thus reducing the surface area for filtration.

These anatomical characteristics allow camels to conserve water under extreme environmental conditions, in addition to regulating the volume of urine. This has the consistency of a thick syrup.

A thirsty camel could reduce its urine output to one fifth, compared to its normal volume.

Cell morphology

In cell morphology, the elliptical shape of red blood cells can be seen. Its small size, 6.5 x 3.3 microns, is balanced by its high blood count, close to 13 million per cubic centimeter.

The oval shape helps keep blood flow, even when water is scarce.

All camelids have the same number of chromosomes. This characteristic is strongly associated with the ability to make fertile crosses between species.

Also, in addition to normal antibodies, they have a unique type of antibody that lacks the light chain. These are called heavy chain antibodies. Currently there are investigations where they are being used in the development of single domain antibodies with pharmaceutical applications.

Habitat

Camels are migratory animals. Their habitats can encompass rocky mountain ranges, deserts, rocky flats, and sand dunes. They are diurnal animals, taking advantage of daylight to look for their food. They usually sleep in open spaces.

The two species of camels are found in different parts of the world. The dromedary or Arabian camel is found in North Africa and the Middle East. On the other hand, the Bactrian camel lives in Central Asia.

Both specimens live in deserts, grasslands, or steppes. Contrary to popular belief, which are only found in warm climates, camels could thrive in habitats with temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius.

Currently the vast majority of dromedaries live in the countries of Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia, which make up the Horn of Africa, in the East African region. There, these animals constitute an important part of the nomadic life of the region.

A large number of dromedaries currently live in the wild in Australia, where they were introduced by man.

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