The dromedary, also called the Arabian camel or the Indian camel, is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. First described by Aristotle, the dromedary was given its binomial name by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
Similar species: Even-toed Ungulates
By Claire Hamilton
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Uploaded Oct 21, 2012. Captured Aug 5, 2008 08:46 in Boulevard Mohamed 5, Zagora, Morocco.
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We’re sniffing out some notable noses today! Click on the photos to see what makes each nose unique! #JungleDragon
Camels have amazing noses! First, they can open and close their nostrils to protect sand from getting inside. That’s cool, but there’s more. Normally, when an animal breathes, it exhales air loaded with water vapor. Camels can’t afford such losses since they live in hot, arid places. To combat this problem, their noses act as a humidifier and a dehumidifier!
Here’s how it works: hot, dry air gets inhaled and passes over 155 square inches of mucous membranes that are organized in a labyrinth, thus increasing the surface area. The greater the surface area, the faster the rate of evaporation or condensation. As a comparison, a human nose only has two square inches of internal surface area! The inhaled air gets humidified by picking up moisture in the nose and cooled in the process. This cool air then continues into the lungs at which point it is at body temperature. When it is exhaled, the air cools even further, but this time by being dehumidified: the nasal membranes are coated with a substance that extracts moisture from the air. This entire process saves the camel 68% of the water that it would have lost through respiration! {Dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) spotted in Morocco by Claire Hamilton} #Camel #DromedaryCamel #Camelusdromedarius
https://www.facebook.com/jungledragonwildlife Posted 4 years ago