http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348716/description/Camel_ancestors_lived_in_the_Arctic
Scientists found fossils of giant camels that lived in the Arctic over 3 million years ago. A paleobiologist at Brown University, not involved in the discovery, says that it's not surprising, as camels' long legs and fat-storing humps may be adaptations to an environment like the Arctic. A team led by paleobiologist Natalia Rybczynski found nearly 30 fragments of a camel's leg bone in the Canadian Arctic, and estimate that the leg was 29% larger than a modern camel's, but the proteins were almost identical to collagen found in modern camel fossils.
NOS Themes:
Science is based on evidence
Science is subject to debate
Cassidy Lee, Hour 1
It is interesting that adaptations like humps and long legs could help camels survive in both the Arctic and in deserts, two very different regions. According to the article, they think the camels might have come across a land bridge. I wonder why today's camels are smaller than the arctic one.
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