Ancestors of camel desert was living in the Snow

Recently, archaeologists have been shocked by camel fossils findings in Canada, where the camel fossil found by a team of researchers at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.

As we know that the camel is an animal that lives in the desert and dry. However, with the finding of fossils ersebut, it has been concluded that in the past, in the mid Pliosene era, ancestors of this animal was ever alive in the cold region, very close to the pole.

The fossil was discovered by a team that lead by a paleobiologist, Natalia Rybczynski, and it's found on Ellesmere Island, which is located at the far north of Canada, Nunavut. Meanwhile, the camel fossil ancestor is thought to have 3.5 million years old.

"This fossil is the first evidence showing that the camel once lived in the area," said Rybczynski to LiveScience, Tuesday (03/05/2013).

"These findings surprised us. Is why, we often associate the the camel as the animals that live in temperate habitats dry (arid) and half-dry (semi-arid), " she added.

There are 30 pieces of bone which is part shinbone of the camel fossils that have been found by the team research. The bones were then identified using collagen fingerprinting method. Total protein, named "Collagen Type I" contained in the bone were calculated.

Based on the analysis of the fossil, explained that the size of the camels at that time is 1/3 times bigger than modern camel in the present.

Rybczynski said, the conditions in the 3.5 million years ago is it possible for the camel to live in areas close to the poles.

Mid of Pliosene era was known as a warm condition. Global temperatures at the time were 2-3 degrees Celsius warmer than current temperatures.

Going forward, Rybczynski and her team plan to continue searching for the camel fossils in the area around the North Pole. "We hope to find more evidence," said Rybczynski. (The journal Nature Communications / LiveScience)