The dromedary (pronounced /ˈdrɒmədɛəri/ or /ˈdrɒmədri/) or Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. Its native range is unclear, but it was probably the Arabian Peninsula. The domesticated form occurs widely in North Africa and the Middle East. The world's only population of dromedaries exhibiting wild behaviour is an introduced feral population in Australia.
The dromedary camel is the largest member of the camel family. Other living members of the camel family include the Bactrian camel, as well as the South American species llama, alpaca, vicuña and guanaco. The dromedary has one hump on its back, in contrast to the two humps on the Bactrian camel.
The 14 million dromedaries alive today are domesticated animals (mostly living in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Maghreb, Middle East and the Indian subcontinent). The Horn region alone has the largest concentration of camels in the world, where the dromedaries constitute an important part of local nomadic life. They provide peripatetic Somali and Ethiopian people with milk, food and transportation.
Camels are even-toed ungulates within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty humps on their backs. There are two species: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian camel has two humps. They are native to the dry desert areas of western Asia, and central and east Asia, respectively. Both species are domesticated to provide milk and meat, and as beasts of burden.
