Camel vs Dromedary
When it comes to camels, dromedary is one type that is not much discussed as they have only one hump compared to the two-humped Bactrian. Therefore, the importance of discussing dromedaries becomes high. This article intends to discuss camels in general and dromedary camels in particular in two separate sections. In addition, the discussed differences between them in this article would be interesting, as it brings about to the attention on the specific characteristics of dromedaries.
Camel
Camel belongs to the Family: Camelidae and Genus: Camelus. Camels are native to the Western and Central Asian dry deserts. The weight of a camel could vary from 400 to 750 kilograms. They have sealable nostrils, long eyelashes, and ear hairs. Those are protective measures against the sand in the desert. Their widen feet prevent from sinking into loose sand of desert while walking. The presence of humps on their back is amongst the most discussed characteristics. There are two species of true camels, known as Bactrian camel and Dromedary camel. The two humps on the back of Bactrian camel make them more interesting. The camel humps have fatty tissues that are useful to generate water via biochemical or metabolic processes. Therefore, the animal wouldn’t suffer from dehydration in a water scarcity condition, especially in deserts. In addition, the fat deposition in humps make sure that there is no fat left in body tissues. Therefore, the heat is not trapped inside tissues, or in other words, it minimizes heat-trapping insulation in body organs of camels. Moreover, this minimizing of heat trapping prevents body organs from being exhausted in the intense heat of the deserts. Therefore, their hump is one of the greatest adaptations for a desert lifestyle. These exceptionally well adapted desert creatures are always interesting to explore.
Dromedary
Dromedary, dromedary camel or Arabian camel, Camelus dromedarius, is a domesticated animal, and there is no one surviving in wild most probably. However, their domestic distribution ranges from North and North-Eastern Africa through the Middle East countries up to India. Interestingly, there are feral populations in central regions of Australia. Their size could be stated as enormous. That is because their weight ranges from 400 to 650 kilograms, height is easily over two metres and the body length measures more than three metres. Dromedary camel has a hump on their back as an adaptation to a desert life. The described heat trapping prevention mechanisms in the above section apply for dromedary camels, as well. Their eyelashes are thick, and the ears are hairy. A Dromedary camel becomes sexually matured around 3 – 4 years of age and their lifespan is about 40 years.
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What is the difference between Camel and Dromedary? • Camels include two species, dromedary is one of those, and the other is Bactrian camel. • Camels could have either one or two humps according to the species of concern, whereas dromedaries always have only one hump. • Dromedaries do not have a thick and long coat of fur, whereas camels as a whole have long hairs (e.g. Bactrian camel) forming a thick overcoat. • Dromedaries naturally range in the North and North-Eastern Africa through the Middle East countries up to Pakistan and India. However, camels (especially Bactrian camels) together have a natural range in the Central Asian regions of China and Mongolia. • There are no subspecies of dromedaries, but camels in general have distinct subspecies. |