There's a mind-blowing theory about camel evolution that might surprise you

camel ted talk
Flickr/TED

It's hard to think of an animal better adapted for a hot, desert climate than a camel. They are the quintessential desert animal.

Advertisement

Or are they?

A few years ago scientists uncovered bewildering fossil evidence that camels once roamed in the Arctic Circle — the exact opposite of their niche habitat today.

Latif Nasser, Radiolab's director of research, told the story during a live TED Talk in New York on November 4 as an example of how the tiniest piece of scientific evidence can upset everything we thought we knew about the world. Even something as fundamental as the idea that camels are built for deserts.

Keep scrolling to see how camels might have survived in the Arctic.

Advertisement

The story starts in Ellesmere Island — a northern island in the Arctic archipelago.

ellesmere island
Google Maps

Palaeobiologist Natalia Rybczynski led an excavation there a few years ago.

ellesmere island camel excavation
YouTube/Canadian Museum of Nature
Advertisement

Which is when Rybczynski came across a very strange fossil.

camel excavation
YouTube/Canadian Museum of Nature
Advertisement

After a few more return trips and more digging, she pieced together part of a limb bone.

 

 

Advertisement

But she still wasn't sure what it was. So she teamed up with researcher Mike Buckley to use a brand-new fossil analysis technique, called collagen fingerprinting.

mike buckley
YouTube/Canadian Museum of Nature

The technique revealed that the tiny fragmentary remains of the fossil were actually from a camel.

camels
YouTube/Canadian Museum of Nature
Advertisement

This actually makes sense, since Rybczynski said camels originated about 45 million years ago in North America.

camel
AP/David J. Phillip

From North America, they crossed over the Bering land bridge into Eurasia.

berring land bridge
Google maps
Advertisement

So yes, camels are American. Nasser had some fun with this idea during the TED Talk.

camel ted talk
Flickr/TED

But how could this iconic desert animal ever have survived in the Arctic? Their physical features make them perfectly suited for a desert environment.

camel
REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Advertisement

...Or maybe not. During his TED Talk, Nasser pointed out that while a camel's broad feet help them traverse sand dunes, they'd also be a huge asset in the snow. They'd act like snow shoes.

camel foot
YouTube/Canadian Museum of Nature

And their humps that store fat (not water, which Nasser said he was shocked to learn) would have provided extra insulation against the bitter cold.

camel hump
YouTube/Canadian Museum of Nature
Advertisement

Camels also have giant eyes, which would have helped them see during the long, dark winter months.

camel eyes
REUTERS/Desmond Boylan

Of course an arctic camel wouldn't resemble the kind of camels we're used to, Nasser said. They were probably huge, standing about 9 feet tall and weighing around 1 ton.

giant arctic camels
YouTube/Canadian Museum of Nature
Advertisement

After all that talk of camels, Nasser had to bring a real one out on stage.

camel ted talk
Flickr/TED

Getting it inside the theater that sits just a few blocks from Times Square looked like a challenge.

camel ted talk
Flickr/TED
Advertisement

And a spectacle.

camel ted talk
Flickr/TED
Advertisement

For Nasser, the camel story is a reminder of how important science is.

camel
Flickr/TED

Camels are the perfect example of the how the tiniest shred of evidence can completely change everything we thought we knew about the world, he said.

camel ted talk
Flickr/TED
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.